


Blaze

by AwesomeMango7



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: (Tags will update as the story goes on), (eventually) - Freeform, Almost Dying, Angst, Anxiety, Bad Parents, Blood, Bullying, Carnivals, Fluff, Halloween, High School AU, Kissing, Loneliness, M/M, Panic Attacks, Parties, Pining, Rick is a teenager, Rick is mean, Rick is not related to Morty at all, Roller Coasters, Slow Burn, Smut if I ever feel like it, Summer is kind of a bitch, Texting, Violence, Weed, Wtf is wrong with these characters, teenagers being teenagers, underaged drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2019-06-25 13:40:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 102,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15641892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwesomeMango7/pseuds/AwesomeMango7
Summary: AU where Rick is a teenager and goes to school with Morty.Morty is a loner who perferrs to stay away from people and be on his own. Rick is a popular guy who stumbles into Morty’s life one night during a house party.(Lol sorry this is a really bad description. I promise the story is better than the description.)





	1. Awkward

**Author's Note:**

> I should probably be working on “Too Far” right now, but... I’m kinda slacking. Sorry about that. But I have this instead, so yeah! Please enjoy and bare with me lol. I’m unorganized, but I’ll keep trying.

Rick Sanchez was an attractive guy, and he was _very_ popular. He had straight A’s, despite skipping class half the time, and he’d had more girlfriends than you could count on both hands. He’d gotten into many fights with other students, and had won pretty much all of them. Apparently he was kind of a dick, and bullied other students occasionally. And last of all, his hair was unnaturally blue, but no one could tell if it was dyed or not.

And that was about all Morty Smith knew about him. It was hard _not_ to know this stuff, because this Rick guy was usually involved in a lot of the drama at school. He didn’t necessarily _cause_ the drama, but he sure as hell got into it. And Summer, Morty’s sister, has a crush on this Rick Sanchez guy, so she was always gushing to Morty about him.

Morty thought of himself as a sort-of nobody. He was pretty much the least popular person in the school. He got average grades, he sat in the back of the classroom, and ate by himself in the lunchroom every day (or he hid out in the bathroom). He was occasionally bullied by popular kids, such as Brad and Frank, and he didn’t have any friends.

The only connection he had to popularity was Summer, and his sister was pretty high up there on the popularity scale. Definitely not the most popular person, but she knew her way around town.

So when Summer decided to throw a party while their parents were out on a marriage counseling cruse, and Rick Sanchez approached him, the brunette didn’t know what the fuck he was supposed to do.

He was sure the only reason Rick was talking to him was because he just so happened to be the first person to the party, having arrived thirty minutes early so he could deliver some beer kegs to Summer, and Morty was literally his only option. But, that still didn’t stop him from being confused and overwhelmed.

Once Rick was done helping Summer set up a few kegs, and Summer was upstairs putting on makeup, he walked up to Morty, who was playing on his phone on the couch. “So, you’re Summer’s little bro, right?” He’d asked, looking down at Morty curiously.

Morty looked up from his phone, staring at Rick in confusion for a moment before realizing he was _supposed to answer him._ “Oh, uh—uh, y-yeah, I’m, uh... I’m Morty.” He blushed from the embarrassment of having tripped over his words so badly, and stuffed his phone in his pocket so that he could give Rick his full attention (if only to not be rude).

Rick chuckled, sitting down on the opposite side of the couch from him. He was wearing a black t-shirt with the sleeves ripped off, and blue jeans with rips in the knees, and Morty couldn’t help but think that the style looked fitting on someone like him. “I’m Rick.”

“I know,” Morty said. And then he realized that was a weird thing to say. “W-we have science, s-sixth period together.” He tacked on quickly and truthfully. He didn’t include any of the other stuff, about how Summer talked about him a lot, and how he’d overheard many conversations about him before.

Rick looked at him in confusion for a second before recognition seemed to wash over him. “Ohh, I know you, you’re that one kid that’s lab partners with Olivia.” He smirked. Olivia Hutson was another one of the popular girls. She always complained about having to be partnered up with Morty, even though the brunet hadn’t done anything wrong. Or, at least, he didn’t think he did. And he was sure he was pretty good at science, so he didn’t know why she disliked him so much. “I knew ya looked familiar.”

Morty let out a weak chuckle, scratching the back of his head. Yet another reminder of his unpopularity— the most popular guy in school only knew he looked vaguely familiar— hadn’t even known his name, while Morty knew more about him than he probably should, considering that he’s never even talked to him until now. “Ha, um... yeah...” His eyes darted around the room for a moment, not sure what he was supposed to say. _Damn,_ why did he have to be so frickin’ awkward all the time?

Rick cleared his throat. “So, ya ready to party?” He asked, a devilish smile splitting across his lips. God, that smile was hot—wait, what? No! “It’s gonna go fuckin’ down tonight!” He whooped, throwing a fist bump into the air.

Rick really was more attractive up close, Morty had to admit, the sharp crystal blue of his eyes standing out more than anything. Morty rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans anxiously. What was he thinking? Rick was totally out of his league, his _sister_ already had crush on him, and he was definitely straight anyway; having these kinds of thoughts were only gonna lead to disappointment. There was no point in trying. “W-well, I’m not gonna be attending, I-I guess?” He looked at Rick wearily, hoping that he wouldn’t react badly to what he was saying. “I’m just gonna stick around in my room...” He pointed up the stairs.

“Aw, c’mon, live a little dawg, tonight’s gonna be a blast!” Rick chuckled. “I mean, who the hell doesn’t attend a party that’s being held in their own house?”

“A popular girl’s lame little brother. That’s who,” At least he was self-aware enough to admit to that. Morty pushed himself up off the couch, scratching at his arm nervously. He didn’t like where this conversation was going. His stomach was already twisting into all sorts of crazy knots. “I-I’d just ruin the fun anyway. I-I’m not all that interesting. Enjoy the party, R-Rick. I-It was nice talking to you.”

He left the room, much to Rick’s disappointment, and went up the stairs to his room.

He shut the door behind him, and flopped down onto his bed. He knew, for a fact, that he wasn’t going to sleep tonight. He was never able to sleep when Summer threw parties.


	2. Party On the Roof

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick randomly comes running into Morty’s room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was gonna wait to post this chapter. But the first chapter is soooo short, so I was just like “hmmmmm, maybe I should actually get the story started before I decide to space the chapters out more.”
> 
> So, here you guys go. Please enjoy!

He ushered the half-drunk couple out the door, telling them that his room was off-limits. Of course, they grumbled and protested, but Morty was _not_ just gonna sit by an let a couple of people he didn’t even know fuck in his _bed._ It was _his_ personal space— why they think he’d ever let them do _that_ in his bed was beyond him.

He sighed heavily once he managed to get the damn door closed. Oh, how he wished his door had a lock. That would fix at least one of his problems.

Morty could feel the bass from the music reverberating through the whole house— some of the things on his desk vibrating along with it. He could hear drunk teenagers laughing and screaming down stairs, and he was pretty sure that there was a couple fucking each other in his parent’s room, if the moaning filtering through the thin walls hinted to anything.

The brunette just didn’t understand the appeal to house parties like these— it was just so chaotic, and crazy, and... were these parties really even worth it with how much cleaning you had to do afterwards?

Summer was always really hungover after the parties, and in some cases still drunk, so Morty usually ended up being the one who had to clean everything up. He hated it, but he knew he’d get in trouble too if the parents found out, because he didn’t stop her from throwing the party in the first place.

He just wanted to have a nice, quiet night. But that wasn’t gonna happen tonight, and Morty was tired and grumpy. He was definitely going to have to talk to Summer about these damn parties. She wouldn’t like it, but Morty didn’t care. He was tired of the parties always ruining things in his life.

Morty was pulled from his thoughts when he heard loud yelling coming from somewhere in the house, and then someone’s feet quickly stomping their way up the stairs. The brunette worried that someone was getting into a fight, or something, but he brushed it off. There was really nothing he could do, and he wasn’t being directly affected at the moment, so it didn’t matter.

That was, _until_ his fucking door slammed wide open, and narrowly missed hitting him in the face.

Obviously whoever was barging in hadn’t expected anyone to be standing there, so the next thing Morty knew, someone was accidentally tackling him to the ground.

The wind was knocked out of him, and his head slammed painfully into the floor. “F-fuck...” He wheezed, the person on top of him not helping his situation in the slightest. They were pressed flush against him, groaning in pain just as much as he was.

_“Morty...?”_ The person on top of him questioned after a small beat of silence.

Morty looked up, catching sight of a pair of crystal blue eyes. _“R-Rick?!”_

“Good to see ya, buddy,” Rick pushed himself off of Morty, all while pulling the poor brunette up with him. Once standing, he patted Morty on the back while he continued to wheeze slightly due to the air being knocked out of him. “Sorry about that, kid...”

Morty hugged himself around the middle, sending Rick Sanchez a half-hearted glare. “W-w-what the hell was that all about?!” He demanded, at the moment not caring that this guy was super popular. He just barged into his room without asking, and then he knocked him to the floor!

“SANCHEZ!!” Someone bellowed from down below before Rick even had a chance to answer, a new set of footsteps stomping their way up the stairs. “GET YOUR ASS BACK OVER HERE!!”

“Oh shit!” Rick cursed, grabbing Morty by the hand, and tugging him towards the window. Morty couldn’t help but notice that Rick looked more amused than scared.

Morty followed, not really knowing what the hell was happening as Rick unlatched his window and released his hand for a moment to push it open. “C’mon, Morty!” He said as he started to climb out onto the roof.

“W-what?” Morty panted, and Rick reached out to tug him along by his arm once again. “W-why do I— why do we need to go onto the roof?!”

“Because I kinda fucked Brad’s girlfriend and now he’s out to get me.” Rick hastily explained as the two teens stumbled out onto the roof.

Morty’s heart was pounding in his ears as the cold air caused goosebumps to rise on his skin. He looked up at the sky, momentarily admiring the sight of stars before focusing back on Rick and what he was saying. “Y-you fucked Jessica?!” The smaller teen asked incredulously.

Everyone knew Brad and Jessica were dating. He barked out an amused laugh. That sounded about right. Most popular guy in school, everyone— fucking the most popular girls, and making their boyfriends mad.

Rick didn’t answer as he continued to pull Morty along, and the brunette couldn’t help but feel a wave of confusion wash over him. He just couldn’t wrap his head around why the hell Rick Sanchez was dragging him into whatever was going on. There was literally no reason for him be be here at all.

But, he guessed he’d just see where this went— it was something new, and exciting, and he could feel adrenaline pumping through his veins, because _holy shit, what the hell was even happening??_

They were halfway across the rooftop when Brad’s head poked out of Morty’s window. When he spotted them, his face contorted in rage. “HEY! GET BACK HERE, RICK, I’M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS, AND THEN I’M GONNA KICK SMITH’S ASS TOO, SINCE HE’S HELPING YOU!”

“Oh geez, oh geez!” Morty said under his breath as him and Rick reached the other side of the roof. He peered over the edge, spotting the next door neighbor’s pool, which was over a fence. Shit, that would definitely be a risky move— it was pretty far away from the roof. But what other choice did they have right now? “R-Rick, if we can jump far enough, w-we could make it to the pool.”

Rick followed Morty’s gaze, and then looked back over at Brad, who was struggling to climb out of the window. “Follow my lead.” He instructed.

Morty followed Rick as they both backed up on the roof. “You better not wussy out, Morty,” Rick said. “And don’t jump until you reach the very edge of the roof, or else you won’t make it. Jump as far as you fucking can.”

“I-I’m not an idiot— that’s just logic.” Morty gave him another half-hearted glare. “A-and I’m not gonna wussy out.” Externally, he sounded confident in that answer, and Rick seemed to buy it. But internally, Morty was fucking losing his shit. _Was he really about to do this?!_

The answer was _yes,_ because he didn’t have any other choice at the moment. _Holy fuck,_ he was about to jump off a _roof._ Could he possibly be any more insane?

He could only hope he didn’t fuck this up and end up breaking both his legs.

The blue haired teen chuckled. “On three,” Rick said, and Morty nodded in agreement.

They both got into ready positions.

 

“One,”

 

Brad got free from the window, and started running towards them.

 

“Two,”

 

Morty could not fucking believe they were about to fucking do this.

 

“ _Three!”_

 

The two teens bolted, running as fast as their legs could carry them, Brad screeching at them from behind as they did so.

Brad was right on their tail, and as Morty jumped from the very edge of the roof along with Rick, he felt the tips of his fingers just barely graze his back.

The two teens screamed as they flew through the air, only just _barely_ making it far enough to actually land in the pool. It kinda felt like a belly flop, except all over his body, due to how high they’d both jumped from, and some of the water went up his nose.

Morty swam to the surface, gasping for air, and coughing. The water was _freezing._ He could see Brad still standing on top of the roof, staring down at him and Rick in shock.

“What the fuck?!” Brad yelled. “Are— are you guys fucking insane?!” He shook his head. “Just you wait, guys, I’ll—I’ll get you next time!” He pointed at them threateningly. “Just you fuckin’ wait! You got lucky this time.” He did the ‘I’m watching you’ motion with his hand and then disappeared over the roof.

Once he was gone, he heard Rick start laughing from behind him, and he turned himself in a circle in the water so he could look at him. The blue haired teen was smiling widely, a look of amusement and amazement on his face. His usually spiked hair was now mostly flattened against his head— it was bizarre to see. “What the fuck was it you said when you said you were boring?” Rick howled with laugher. “You literally just jumped off a roof and landed in a pool to escape Brad! And don’t forget that this was _your_ idea!”

Morty found that Rick’s laugher was sort of contagious, and before he could stop himself, he started giggling along with him, the reality of the situation settling in now that they didn’t have Brad to worry about.

There was a strange sense of hysteria running through his veins— the kind that people get when they barely make it out of a life of death situation. “I-I can’t believe we just did that,” Morty laughed. “I-I can’t believe _I_ just did that— that was literally like the most insane thing I’ve ever done before!”

“You’re not half bad, Morty.” Rick chuckled as the two of them climbed out of the pool and sat on the edge with their legs still hanging off the edge.

Morty giggled, shivering slightly. “Y-You’re pretty cool, Rick,” The brunette smiled at him. He knew Rick was probably just gonna forget he existed by tomorrow, but he felt the need to say it anyway. “I-I actually can’t believe you thought m-my idea was even going to work. We c-could’ve totally broken our legs right there.”

Rick smirked, pulling his soaked shirt off over his head. “It was either we took a risk, and at least tried to escape, or just sat there and took a beating.” He said, pulling off his pants and shoes, too, so that he was only in his boxers. “And I dunno about you, but I don’t just fuckin’ _let_ people beat the shit outta me.”

Morty blushed as Rick started to undress himself, turning to gaze out at the pool water. The brunette wasn’t even close to stepping out of the closet, and he wasn’t planning on it anytime soon. “Um, well... I-It’s kinda hard not to let them w-when you don’t know how to defend yourself. B-but, if there’s another option, like jumping into a pool from a roof, I’ll take it.”

Rick started ringing out his shirt, holding it over the pool as the water dripped out of it. He flashed Morty a toothy grin. “I just start throwin’ punches whenever there’s no other way out.” He seemed way too optimistic about that, but Morty knew it was because Rick had won just about every fist fight he’d gotten into.

Morty laughed. “I-I’m not all that good a fighting, so I usually j-just lose in situations like that...” He said, and than frowned at a sudden realization. “S-speaking of, Brad’s probably gonna kick my ass on Monday now. Wish me luck.” He chuckled. He was used to getting the occasional beating at this point. Bullies would forever be bullies. It was probably gonna suck, and Morty was gonna be sore for a while, but it was something inevitable that was going to happen now, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“You got any clothes I can borrow?” Rick asked, changing the subject.

Morty looked at him with an amused expression, eyeing him up. Rick was _definitely_ too big to fit any of his clothes.

He was thin, but toned, with broad shoulders, and he was _tall._ He had to at least be a foot and a half taller than Morty. “O-okay, one: none of my clothes w-would suit your style. I mean, look at me,” He said, gesturing to his own clothes— a bright yellow t-shirt and blue jeans, albeit soaking wet now. “A-and two: I... don’t think any of my stuff would fit you? B-but if you want, y-you could look through my closet.”

Rick shrugged, leaning back on his hands. “Let’s do that, then.” He said.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The two of them managed to get back to the house, after climbing over the neighbors fence, and struggling to get through a sea of teenagers.

People whooped as Rick walked by them, almost completely naked and soaking wet. Rick showed off some, too, smiling and posing as people took pictures of his mostly naked body. The girls were the ones who gushed the most.

Morty was still fully clothed, unlike Rick, and he’d hoped that he wouldn’t catch any unwanted attention. But he was soaked from head to toe, so... people noticed. He must have looked gross or something, because people were giving him either confused or disgusted looks. It was unnerving, and embarrassing.

He felt relief wash over him when they finally made it back to his room, and there _thankfully_ wasn’t a couple in there fucking on his bed. Morty closed the door behind him and walked over to his closet.

“S-so, here’s my closet,” He said, searching through it. He grabbed a pair of pajamas for himself— a plain, warn down grey t-shirt, and plaid pajama pants. “Y-y-you can look through it to see if there’s anything that’ll fit.”

Rick stood next to him, peering inside. He pulled out one of Morty’s overly large Overwatch-themed t-shirts and a pair of pajama pants that had always been a little too long for Morty’s legs. “Thanks,” He muttered as he got dressed.

Morty, hesitantly, pulled his shirt off over his head, feeling his cheeks heat up. He felt self-conscious, getting undressed in front of another person. He didn’t like it.

Rick turned around, and Morty sped up the process of changing himself, hating how he felt like Rick’s eyes were burning holes into him. He struggled slightly to get his pants off, groaning in frustration when it got caught around his foot. God, he was so anxious he was _shaking._

He finally managed to get his jeans off and quickly pulled his pajama pants and his shirt on. He would’ve changed his boxers, too, if Rick hadn’t been there.

Morty crossed his arms over his chest, and sat down on his bed. “W-well, that was fun.” He said, trying to give Rick a kind smile. “I-I’d say we should— that we should do it a-again sometime, but something like this is probably never gonna happen again.”

Rick grinned at him. “Who says it won’t?” He walked over to Morty and flopped down on his bed, laying down on it behind the flustered brunette.

Morty scoffed, turning to look back at Rick. “Y-you probably get to go on adventures like that every day.”

Rick folded his arms behind his head, stretching out on the brunette’s bed. “Y-y-y-you call that an adventure?” He chuckled.

Morty furrowed his brow. He couldn’t tell if Rick was mocking his stutter or not, and a shot of embarrassment washed through him. Usually, he didn’t mind his own stutter— he only really got sensitive about it whenever someone mocked him or said something about it. “Uh, well...” He spoke slowly, trying to repress his stutter. “I guess? I’ve never done anything that... adventurous? So yeah?”

Rick smirked, seeming to mull over the thought in his head. “Rick and Morty adventures... has a nice ring to it, huh?”

Morty was unable to stop himself from laughing, a warm feeling blooming inside his heart, despite still feeling self-conscious. “Y-y-yeah,” He cringed at his stutter, turning around on his bed so he could face Rick, sitting criss-cross.

Rick was smiling at him, but Morty didn’t really know why. “So, you wanna join the party?” He asked in an almost hopeful tone.

Morty bit his lip, playing with the corner of his blanket, rolling the fabric over in his hands. He _really_ shouldn’t.

“C’mon, Morty, it’ll be fun.” He pressed. “You ever drink before? I bet you’d chill if you had some beer.”

Morty sighed. “I’d rather not.” He decided defeatedly. He’d never had alcohol before, and he didn’t want to try it. His mother was teetering on the edge of alcoholism, and from what he’d seen, it made people act stupid and it made you feel bad the next day.

Rick groaned. “ _Fine,_ I guess I’ll let it slide just t-this once. But next time, you’re gonna have some fun, alright? I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Y-you can still go to the party without me, y’know,” Morty shrugged. Maybe it was best if Rick left. He was ruining his fun, keeping the older teen from the party. “Not gonna make much of a difference if I’m there or not.”

Rick stared at Morty for a long time before he let out a sigh and stood from the bed. “See ya around, Morty.” He said before opening the door and rejoining the party.

Morty sighed, flopping over on his bed.

 

Brad was probably gonna kill him on Monday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! I really appreciate it! <3


	3. Oh, so you know what it looks like?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brad and Morty literally have a conversation about Rick’s dick in this one. I just now realized this as I was posting this chapter.
> 
> (Lol it’s not what you think, though. XDD)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little choppy at the beginning. It kinda has a bunch of time skips that summarizes the rest of Morty’s weekend. Hope it turned out okay. Please enjoy!

“He was so _hot,_ Morty!” Summer rambled, throwing an empty beer can into her trash bag. She, for once, hadn’t gotten shit-faced, and was able to help Morty clean up. “He jumped up on the table and started shredding on his guitar like crazy! Everyone was amazed!”

“Sounds awesome,” Morty mumbled absentmindedly. Summer was telling him about all of the crazy shit Rick did last night, but he wasn’t playing attention to her rambling all that much. He was more focused on cleaning up the mess. “S-sounds l-like it was real fun.”

She continued to ramble about Rick Sanchez, and how he did so many cool things, and how he was the life of the party. Morty completely zoned out for a moment as he continued to clean, getting lost in his thoughts about his own time spend with Rick.

He must have thought he was really lame for not wanting to participate in the party. He shouldn’t have let Rick drag him out onto the roof. He should’ve held his ground and pushed Rick out of his room. Should’ve never let Rick Sanchez borrow a pair of his clothes.

Popular kids always spread rumors and drama, and now he was probably going to get pulled into something he didn’t want to be apart of. He could feel it, deep inside of him, all the way down to the marrow of his bones. At school tomorrow, there were going to be rumors about him, all because he’d been in Rick Sanchez’s presence for a short amount of time.

He’d gone through his sort of shit before, when he’d tried to ask Jessica out that _one time._

She’d then spread rumors about him, saying that he was a gross perv and that he’d touched her, when he _hadn’t._

All he’d done was nervously ask her if she wanted to go to the Flu Season dance with him, and she’d scoffed, and said, _“Ew, no, why would I go with a gross little kid like **you?**_ ”

It had broken Morty’s heart, because he’d had a crush on this girl since the fifth grade. She was tall, and beautiful, and Morty loved her laugh. She was sweet, and charming. Or, Morty had _thought_ she was sweet and charming. She hadn’t even had the decency to decline him politely, in a more private place. Instead, she’d done it in front of all of her friends, speaking loudly and clearly so everyone could hear. It was as if she _wanted_ to ruin his already dead social life— like she got a really good kick out of it.

Sure, Morty still would have still been upset if she’d politely declined, but a polite decline would have been way better than the look of pure disgust on her face when he’d asked, and the negative attention it had brought on him for the next several _months._

Everyone believed what Jessica had said, and no one wanted to listen to Morty. Not even Summer believed him, which had really stung.

There was one particularly bad day where he’d walked up to his locker and found that someone had spray painted _‘ **PERVERT** ’_ on it in big, red letters, and all of the popular girls kept giving him dirty looks, and when they walked past him in the halls, they pointedly distanced themselves as far as they could from him, as if he were a skunk ready to spray them.

And worst of all, Brad and Frank had started bullying him ten times harder than they had before. That was one part of the whole thing from last year that stuck, and was probably going to continue to stick until Brad and Frank graduated (they were both a grade above him).

 

“Morty! Are you even listening to me?”

 

Morty nearly jumped out of his own skin, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. “Huh— w-what? Sorry!” He stammered. “I-I-I spaced off for a second. What were you saying?”

“I was asking you why people were saying they saw you with Rick. A few people said they saw you disappeared into your bedroom together.” Summer dropped her garbage bag, placing her hands on her hips as she glared at him.

Morty cringed. “A-aw geez, it wasn’t anything like that, Summer, he just needed some clothes.”

“Why did he even need clothes in the first place?” Summer furrowed her brows, a suspicious look on her face.

“B-because he jumped off the roof and landed in the neighbors pool.” Morty answered truthfully, his shoulders slumping at the memory.

Summer scoffed. “Bullshit.”

“No, seriously,” Morty said, holding Summers gaze as he dropped his garbage bag as well, standing up straighter. While his answer _did_ sound kinda like bullshit, he was offended that she didn’t believe him. Again. “I was minding my own business when h-he suddenly barged into my room, forced me to climb out onto the roof with him, and we jumped into the neighbors pool.”

Summer gave him a skeptical look. “That doesn’t even make any sense, Morty, why would he even do that?”

“Because B-Brad was chasing him,” Morty sighed heavily, reaching down to grab his bag again. If Summer wasn’t going to believe him, then... _whatever._ She could continue to think he was an asshole, even though he wasn’t.

“Whatever, Morty, just don’t try to get with him,” Summer rolled her eyes. “I called him first.”

Morty’s face flushed a furious red. “I don’t like him like that, Summer!” He shook his head vehemently. “I-I don’t swing that way!” That last part was a complete lie, and he knew it. He’d known he was bisexual for years, and no one else would ever find out. He was never coming out of the closet. He had too many bullies as it was, and coming out as bi or gay would only make it worse.

“Your face says otherwise.” Summer chuckled, though it sounded kinda bitter.

“No! Y-you’re just— you’re making me feel embarrassed!” Morty countered. At least that part wasn’t a lie. “Y-y-you can’t just _suggest_ something like that and not expect me to freak out a little!”

The very implication that he liked Rick was completely humiliating. Sure, the guy was one of the most attractive people he’d ever met, but looks could only do so much. He’d only _technically_ met him once, and Morty didn’t quite know what to think of him. He was just afraid that he was going to spread bullshit rumors about him. Plus, Rick has had so many girlfriends before that he was sure ever giving that blue-haired teen a try would only break his heart in the end.

Summer scoffed, and muttered out a quiet, “Whatever...” Before returning to her cleaning.

Morty continued cleaning as well, this time not letting himself space off when Summer started talking about the events of the party.

If Summer didn’t believe him, he didn’t care. He was used to her not being in his corner, so he knew how to watch his own back.

 

 

* * *

 

 

They had successfully cleaned up the entire house.

The messiest and most disgusting thing they had to clean was their parents bedroom... which had apparently been used by several different couples throughout the night. _Ew._

Morty’d kept the bed sheets at arms length every time he had to touch it, and had grimaced the entire time he’d been washing it. There were various stains all over it, and Morty didn’t even want to know what they were from.

When he was done with that part, he’d vigorously washed his hands in the sink.

Other than their parents bedroom, there were some... _mysterious_ stains on the carpet, and a passed-out teenager in the hallway closet that they’d had to wake up and kick out of the house.

With a job well-done, the siblings parted ways and mostly just kept to their own devices for the rest of the weekend. They spent most of their time either in their own rooms or on the living room couch.

Summer practically had her face glued to the screen of her phone, and Morty was just antsy all the time. The brunette just didn’t see the appeal to sitting around on your phone near-constantly. But that could also be because he didn’t have any friends to talk to.

He usually just watched the occasional YouTube video, listened to music, or roamed around on Instagram. But you could only do that stuff for so long before you got bored.

He wished his parents would be okay with him having an Xbox, but Jerry had read something online about it rotting your brain, so he was never allowed to have one (even though it’s said that every electric could do that, and was still allowed to have a phone and a computer). He did manage to play games on his computer sometimes, but it was such a shitty computer that it could hardly run anything other than Chrome.

The teen sighed, pulling out his phone so he could take random online tests, if only to cure his boredom. He was really wrapped up in a test about what kind of doughnut he would be when he got a notification. His eyes darted up from the question to read it.

Morty nearly dropped his phone. It was telling him that _Rick Sanchez_ was now following him on instagram.

Morty opened the notification, clicking on Rick’s profile. There were only twenty-two people following Morty on instagram, and all of them were either family members or spam accounts. So Morty was really, _really_ confused as to way Rick would even do such a thing as follow him. Maybe he was just curious and accidentally clicked the follow button?

He browsed Rick’s profile for a little while, taking in all of the cool pictures he’d posted, which consisted of a lot of cool places he’d been to, including parties. He was with a lot of people in most of the photos, unless he was just taking a random selfie.

His profile picture was of him standing on a stage, wearing sunglasses and a... lab coat?- and playing on a guitar. He remembered Summer mentioning something about him playing guitar and being in a band.

His bio simply read, _‘Sometimes science is more art than science. I learned that lesson the hard way.’_ And Morty had no idea what he was talking about.

Morty sighed, following Rick back just for the hell of it, and then went to his own profile.

He didn’t have very many posts. Just a few pictures of the sky when it looked particularly nice, and one half-asses selfie of him smiling awkwardly at the camera. Morty cringed, and quickly closed out of the app. He should really just delete his account or something.

 

 

 

* * *

 

When their parents returned home, they were just as oblivious as ever. They never suspected a darn thing, because Summer and Morty were just their innocent little angel-children. In reality, though, Summer was their demon-child in disguise, who threw parties, smoked weed, and drank alcohol behind their backs. And Morty didn’t say or do anything to stop it.

He knew that Summer was safe. She didn’t over-drink, and she never put herself in too much danger, so he didn’t see any reason to tell them. If she wasn’t directly in danger, Summer would hate him forever for saying anything.

Their parents talked about the cruise, and how it significantly helped them while Summer and Morty helped bring all of their bags back inside.

Not very long after dinner started, however, they were right back at their old ways, the both of them arguing about something stupid that happened over the trip.

The two teens in the house exchanged knowing looks. This exact scenario had happened plenty of times before.

Beth and Jerry would leave to go fix their marriage, only to return and resume their insufferable bickering.

Morty won’t be surprised when they inevitably get a divorce.

 

 

 

* * *

 

The bus ride to school had been completely ordinary. He and Summer would climb aboard, and Morty would find an empty seat while Summer would find one of her friends to gossip with. It was the same old same old.

But the whole time, Morty had a foreboding feeling looming over his shoulder. He was dreading today.

Maybe no rumors had spread about him, but he was definitely sure Brad was gonna beat the shit out of him at some point. Maybe he’d take a different route to his classes, and he’d sit in the bathroom to eat his lunch again. He still had to get to his locker, though... which threw his whole plan off balance.

As Morty got off the bus, his brain kicked into autopilot as he headed to his locker. He kept looking over his shoulder along the way, feeling paranoid of what was to come. It was getting to the point where Morty just wanted whatever was going to happen to happen already, because he already knew it was inevitable.

As he rounded the corner, he tugged anxiously at his backpack straps in preparation for what he might soon come face to face to.

His eyes caught sight of his locker, and he stopped a few feet in front of it. His mouth dropped open in shock, his cheeks growing uncomfortably warm.

He expected _something_ to have been done to his locker, but this... this was _way_ worse than he imagined. There were _at least_ fifty-or-so printed out pictures of _dicks_ scotched-taped to it, and in the middle, in black sharpie, someone had written out the word, _‘ **GAAAYYYY** ’ _in big, bold lettering.

Morty’s shoulders slumped, memories of the first time this had happened resurfacing in his mind. He felt that same sinking, empty feeling in his chest. It was at moments like these that he realized he was just a friendless loser, and that was it.

He stepped forward determinedly and started ripping off all of the pictures, handfuls at a time, and threw them on the ground until he got every last one of them.

Someone else could clean it up; it wasn’t technically _his_ mess anyway. He just hoped it wasn’t the janitor that eventually had to clean it up.

He wouldn’t be able to get the sharpie off, so he was probably stuck with it for the rest of the year. _‘Great.’_ Morty thought to himself bitterly. _‘What a way to start the day.’_

He twisted his combination into the lock and opened his locker, taking a few books out of his backpack and then shoving the rest inside.

When he closed his locker, Morty yelped in surprise.

Brad was standing there, glaring down at Morty menacingly. “Hey, fag.” He said, and Morty cowered slightly.

He closed his eyes for a moment, composing himself. “A-alright, just get it _alllll_ out, Brad. I’m ready for it.” Morty said defeatedly, placing his books on the ground and then holding his arms out to his sides to make sure he was completely vulnerable. This was nothing he hadn’t gone through before; nothing he couldn’t handle.

“Wow, not even gonna run this time?” Brad chuckled, leaning close enough for Morty to smell his putrid breath. Morty wondered, distantly, how Jessica had ever managed to kiss him without throwing up. _‘Ha, maybe that’s why she so willing cheated on him with Rick.’_ Morty thought, and he had to suppress an amused smile.

“Is it because you don’t have your boy-toy around to run with you?” Brad pouted mockingly, his voice condescending in a way that someone would use to speak to a dog. “Where’s your good ‘ol Ricky, huh?”

Morty glared, instinctively puffing his chest out slightly as anger filled him. He wasn’t scared of Brad; not like he used to be. “Did y-you already forget that he’s the one that _fucked your girlfriend_ , Brad? I-I swear, your insults get w-worse every day, especially since all of their logic lost meaning the moment the real world started working against them.”

Brad slammed Morty so hard against the locker that the wind was knocked out of him. “You keep your damn mouth shut, you piece of shit!” The bigger teen seethed, spit flying from his mouth.

“Y-y-you’re just,” Morty coughed weakly, struggling to catch his breath. “Y-y-you’re just mad Jessica l-liked Rick better.” He managed a weak smirk, delighting in the way Brad’s face contorted in rage. He was already gonna get beat up, might as well have a little fun before the rest of his day turns to shit.

Brad grabbed a fistful of Morty’s shirt and pulled him forward before shoving him back against the locker, once again knocking the wind out of him. He leaned super close to Morty’s face, so close that the brunette nearly went cross-eyes looking at him. “I bet _you’d_ like that too, huh, Mortimer? Rick’s big dick?”

“ _Oh,_ so you—“ He wheezed slightly. “You— you k-k-know what size Rick’s dick is?” Morty continued coughing, his hands grasping desperately at Brad’s arm, trying to get him to let go.

Apparently Brad couldn’t think of a witty retort to what Morty’d said, so instead he slammed his fist into Morty’s face, and then dropped the trembling teen to the ground.

Morty felt tears sting his eyes, pain exploding through his left eye. He fell to his hands and knees, struggling to suck in breaths of air.

Brad still stood above him, his chest heaving with barely contained rage. He pointed down at Morty angrily. “You’re disgusting, Smith.” He spat.

“I-I-I’m not the one who knows R-Rick Sanchez’s _dick size.”_  Morty spat back.

Brad yelled in outrage, swinging a kick straight into Morty’s side. The teen cried out in pain, falling over and curling into himself. “G-G-Geez,” Morty said, even through his tears. Maybe he was losing the battle, but he wouldn’t go down with out a fight, damnit! “Y-y-you’re sure... you’re pre-pretty defensive a-about this, huh, Brad?” Morty cracked his good eye open, making eye-contact with Brad. He continued to smirk weakly at him. Getting the shit beat out of him was worth it for the uncomfortable look on Brad’s face.

“You don’t know _anything,_ Mortimer,” Brad glared down at him. “You’re just a stupid faggot. You should just kill yourself already.”

Brad then spun on his heels and started stomping angrily down the hallway and out of sight with his hands balled into angry fists.

Morty slowly collected himself and his books, wincing and pushing through the pain.

Now it was time to just focus on his classes. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to deal with Frank today. If he didn’t run into him, the rest of today would be smooth sailing for him... with the exception of weird looks from his classmates and maybe a few muttered words in his direction.

Morty went through his classes mostly unscathed, and he hid out in the bathroom during lunch (as he did most days). It was kinda gross, but it was better than somehow being humiliated in front of everyone.

It wasn’t until science class that he started to get worried again, because he had that class with Rick.

Usually, Morty was the first person to that class, but he took a different route and ended up being a little later than he usually was. He still had plenty of time before class actually started, so he didn’t mind.

But as he approached the classroom, he heard voices, one of them being Rick’s— He paused for a moment before deciding that he shouldn’t even care that Rick was in there, and he kept walking.

Maybe Rick was not as bad as he was assuming he was. Rick had been... _nice_ to him. Granted, he didn’t know the blue-haired teen all that well, but from what experience Morty had spending time with him, he’d been a pretty okay guy.

Sure, he got Jessica to cheat on Brad with him, and according to rumors he was kind of ruthless and mean and beat a lot of people up, but he’d been nice to Morty. Maybe things could just go back to normal, with the two of them not really talking. He could once again fade into the comfortable background of his school.

Maybe his fears were irrational. He was judging Rick too harshly when he didn’t even know the guy. If anyone knew not to judge a person by the rumors said about them, it was Morty.

“So, like, what’d he do?” A voice asked from inside the classroom.

“Did he try to have sex with you, Rick?” Another voice joined in.

He heard Rick scoff, and the brunette curiously peaked in through the cracked-open door, his eyes wide as he eavesdropped on the conversation. _Were they really talking about him??_

Rick was sitting on one of the lab tables, surrounded by three girls. He had a smirk on his face, and he kept gazing at them flirtatiously.

“Yeah,” Rick said, and Morty felt his heart drop. He knew it. Rick was just like all the others. He shouldn’t have doubted his instincts and thought that maybe he was different. “The fag _really_ wanted it, too, but I had to tell him to get the fuck away from me. Had to tell him I don’t swing that way.”

“Ugh,” One of the girls, which Morty knew was Olivia, scoffed. She flipped her long, raven black hair over her shoulder. “I always knew there was something off about that kid.”

“I thought he liked Jessica, though?” Another girl, who was named Jasmine, said. She was chewing nosily on gum, every once in a while blowing an impressively large bubble. “Didn’t he ask her out last year?”

The third girl, Anna, spoke up then. “Yeah, but she said no.” She shrugged. “Good thing, too, that guy’s a pervert. I didn’t know he was a pervert to guys, too, though, so that just makes it worse.”

“Sick little fuck, isn’t he?” Rick chuckled.

Morty felt tears forming in his eyes. He’d thought everyone was over that by now— that the rumor had _finally_ fizzled out. But now he was going to have to deal with both rumors?! Now he had to deal with not only being called gay, but also being called a pervert?!

Why did this have to happened to him? What did Morty ever do to deserve this? He just wanted to be left alone, why couldn’t he just have that?

He bit his lip as a few stray tears lazily fell from his eyes, and at that moment he wished he was anywhere but here. He wished he was a billion miles away— in another state— another country— _another fucking planet!_ Anywhere but _here,_ where everyone hated him.

As Morty wallowed in his thoughts, he accidentally leaned forward slightly, and the door, as it always had, squeaked loudly as it was opened just a little more.

All of them turned their heads in the direction of the door, and once they realized who it was, disgust was evident on their faces.

Rick, on the other hand, only looked shocked, but Morty wasn’t focused on Rick as much as he was on the three girls, who were now yelling at him for being a creep and eavesdropping on their conversation.

He could feel the tears flowing down his cheeks, and he _hated it._  He was so pathetic. He hated himself for being like this. Everyone hated him for some reason, but he just couldn’t figure out _why._

Maybe it was everything about him. Maybe he was just too weird, or too ugly or something. Maybe he was just as disgusting and pathetic and dumb as everyone said he was.

He briefly made eye-contact with Rick, trying to convey all of his hurt emotions in that one simple look, before he quickly made an escape, leaving the room and disappearing through the hallway, frantically wiping away his tears as he did so. He thought he maybe heard Rick call after for him to wait, but he decided that it was just his imagination taunting him for wanting someone to care, when no one really did.

 

 

 

* * *

 

He ended up skipping his science class altogether. He wouldn’t dare go back there, and even though he knew he was probably gonna fail that class, he decided that he was going to skip it for the rest of the year, too.

Fuck Rick, and fuck everyone else in this stupid school. Morty only needed himself. He’d been alone all his life, so he didn’t need anyone now.

The rest of the day was a haze. He got more glares from people he didn’t even _know,_ and he flunked a test in his English class. He didn’t care. He just wanted to go home and hide under his blankets until this stupid rumor blew over, which he knew wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

The bus ride home went as usual, and when he _finally_  got home he headed up to his room and face-planted into his bed. He let out a muffled scream into his pillow, a few frustrated tears flowing from his eyes. _Why again?_ He didn’t even _do_ anything this time.

Last time, he’d simply asked out his crush, and that’s how _that_ chain of events had started. But this time, he’d done _nothing_ to provoke this. He was the one who’d _literally_  been _dragged by the hand_ into the situation. He. Did. _Nothing—_ He just couldn’t win.

But everyone still hated him. Maybe it was right that they hated him.

Maybe bad luck was just attracted to him. Maybe he was destined to forever suffer like this.

After a while, Morty’s eye started to hurt. It was slightly bruised from Brad’s punch earlier that morning, as well as his side. But he was used to the pain, so he’d forgotten about it up until now. He sat up on his bed so he wasn’t putting pressure on it anymore. Maybe some YouTube videos would make him feel better.

He pulled out his phone and opened YouTube, going to one of his favorite YouTubers and watching their newest video. He got lost in it for a while, temporarily forgetting about his day. It was a nice distraction from everything. He laughed every once in a while whenever something funny would happen, and his heart felt a little lighter for a while.

But then he got a notification, and Morty deeply frowned, his mood deteriorating back to square one. It was from Rick. He had sent a conversation request on instagram.

Morty, curious even though he knew this was a bad idea, tapped on the notification and it brought him to Instagram. He accepted the chat request begrudgingly.

 

_**Rick: Can we talk?** _

 

Morty’s frown deepened. Why would Rick think he’d ever want to talk to him again? All Morty’d done was be nice, and then Rick had gone off and spread rumors about him. He literally had no excuse, and he couldn’t lie himself out of this. Morty had _seen_ him. He’d fucking _seen_ and _heard_ him talking to those girls. He _watched_ Rick put more pressure on his shoulders by adding to the already numerous bullies that Morty had.

Morty’s fingers tapped quickly across the screen as he typed out a response.

 

_**Morty: No. I don’t want to talk to you ever again.** _

__

_**Morty: and I’m blocking you.** _

 

Before Morty could even exit out of the chat, Rick responded.

 

_**Rick: Wait!** _

_**Rick: please, will you just hear me out? I just need like 5 minutes of your time.** _

 

Morty groaned in frustration, rolling his eyes so hard that he could practically see his own brain.

 

_**Morty: What do you want from me? Another bullshit rumor to tell everyone? Are you going to edit my texts and twist my words around to make it look like I’m trying to whore myself out to you?** _

_**Rick: No! Jesus, just hear me out, alright? Please?** _

__

_**Morty: Go fuck yourself, Rick** _

__

_**Rick: Listen! Im trying to apologize. Please listen. I’m really sorry, Morty.** _

 

Morty stared at the screen. The only reason someone like Rick would ever apologize would be to manipulate him. And Morty’d been manipulated before; he wasn’t gonna fall into that trap again.

 

_**Morty: Goodbye, Rick.** _

 

Morty then quickly blocked Rick before he could respond.

He didn’t want anything to do with Rick. He’d thought that maybe Rick _might_ be a little nicer to him. He thought that just _maybe_ he’d keep their short adventure together as a private thing, or at the very _least_ keep it truthful instead of lying for some dumb fucking ulterior motive.

He’d kept his expectations realistic, hoping that Rick would at the very least do that much for him.

 

But he hadn’t.

 

 

And Morty was once again reminded of just how alone he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Hope you guys liked it. And don’t worry my friends, things’ll get better for them eventually.


	4. YOUR HAIR IS ON FUCKING FIRE!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blah blah, stuff happens in the chapter, blah blah, the summary only spoils shit. If you’re on chapter four, then that probably means you plan to read this regardless of the summary, so yeah. No point in doing the summary lol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello fabulous person who is reading this, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Morty wore an oversized yellow hoodie to cover his face the next day. It surprisingly worked well. He’d even walked right past Brad, and he hadn’t even noticed. A smile came to his face, because he now knew that today would go by a little more smoothly.

The only time anyone really did notice him was when he was in class and the teachers called roll. He’d get a few looks from others, and that was about it.

He still hid out in the bathroom during lunch, though. There were too many people in the lunch room all at once that could recognize him. He actually sat with another boy, too, who was just having a bad day in general.

He randomly started venting to Morty, talking about how his girlfriend broke up with him, and then he’d lost all of his friends at once because they had only been friends with him because of his girlfriend.

Morty tried his best to give some advice, and it made the other guy smile, so he deemed the moment his good deed for the day.

After that, another boy came running into the bathroom in search for his friend, who just so happened to be the one who’d just vented to him. He told his friend that he’d always hated his girlfriend because she was a bitch, and he’d pick him over her any day.

And then they left, and Morty was left eating in content silence in the bathroom. He was happy for the other guy. At least someone got to have a happy ending.

It wasn’t until halfway through the day, when Morty realized he hadn’t brought his history book with him, that he needed to head to his locker. He’d been avoiding this all day, in fear that something else had been done to it. He also didn’t want to run into any of his bullies.

He kept his head down and his hood up the whole way, dreading his arrival. He really, _really_ hoped no one would be waiting for him.

But there was.

There was someone at his locker. They were wearing a black hoodie with the hood up, so Morty had no clue who they were. They were too skinny to be Brad or Frank, though, which was weird. He didn’t have a clue as to who they could be.

And the thing that was even weirder, though, was that they didn’t seem to be waiting for Morty as much as they were hoping he wouldn’t arrive.

_The bastard was in the middle of trying to pick his lock._

Rage boiled inside of Morty, and he stomped his his way over to the other teen. Once close enough, Morty spoke loudly and suddenly in hopes of startling them. “W-w-w-what the hell do you think you’re doing?!” He demanded.

The locker-burglar jumped and spun around to face him, and Morty’s eyes widened when he saw their face. It took a moment, but Morty managed to shake off the surprise and he glared at them. It was Rick _motherfucking_ Sanchez. Of course, blocking someone on social media didn’t block them in real life. _But if only it could._

It’s not that Morty hated Rick... but he didn’t particularly like him, either. He was someone that had said hurtful things about him, and Morty didn’t want to be around him because of it. Fuck, he hardly even _knew_ Rick, and he’d already somehow managed to break his heart. It was like Jessica all over again, except he didn’t have a crush on Rick.

Rick pulled his hands away from his lock, a bobby pin in hand. “T-this isn’t what it looks like, kid.”

Morty didn’t understand why Rick kept calling him _‘kid.’_  He was only a year younger than him, and it was getting annoying. Morty was a sophomore, and Rick was Junior. That was hardly a different, yet he still did it, and Morty didn’t like it. Not like he was going to say anything about it, though. There was no point to.

He narrowed his eyes at the blue-haired teen and stepped forward, subtly pushing Rick out of the way. He put in the combination, opened his locker, and retrieved his history book before closing it again. He didn’t understand why Rick would even want to break into his locker; it held nothing of value other than his books. But he still didn’t want him messing shit up inside of it.

“Doesn’t m-m-matter what it looked like. Just d-don’t try it again, please. I-I already have enough shit to deal with because of you.” Morty didn’t look at Rick the whole time he spoke, not wanting the other to see how his face fell into a broken expression. “Isn’t that _enough?”_ He was more hurt than angry at this point. He was tired of so many people hurting and disappointing him.

“Why are you being so _frustrating?”_ Rick groaned from behind him.

Morty’s shoulders tensed. “ _I’m_ being frustrating?” The brunette spun around, looking up at Rick with a furious glare. “A-all I wanna do is disappear back into the crowd! That’s all! But I can’t now, because _you”_ Morty poked him in the chest harshly, tears forming in his eyes once again. “Fucked everything up for me! All I f-fucking did was be nice to you! I followed you onto the roof! I jumped into the pool with you! And I fucking let you have some of my clothing! And the next thing I know, you’re talking shit about me with a bunch of girls that you’re probably just trying to get laid with! And now you just won’t leave me alone, nor will anyone else, because now everyone _thinks_ I want you to fuck me! When I _don’t!”_

Rick’s eyes narrowed, rage evident on his face. He reached up and snatched the hand that Morty had poked him in the chest with, holding it in such a tight grip that Morty was sure his hand was gonna break if he held on any tighter. He pushed him against the locker, glaring daggers down at the smaller teen. _“Keep your grimy little fingers off of me, Morty.”_ He growled.

Morty had never been so intimidated in his life as Rick leaned ominously over him, his blue eyes razor sharp and filled with rage. Rick looked so terrifying from this angle— he looked absolutely _nothing_ like the boy that he’d met at the party. He looked like a large angry wolf, looming over Morty, who was the meek little prey he wanted to eat.

Morty was suddenly reminded of all of the rumors about how Rick had won just about every fight he’d gotten into, even fights against Frank and Brad. 

He’d _seen_ the outcome of some of them himself. He remembered seeing Frank walk down the hallways with two black eyes, covered in bruises from head to toe from a fight he’d gotten into with Rick. He’d seen people with broken arms and wrists because they’d tried to double-cross this guy. Rick Sanchez _ruled_ this school with an iron fist, and he tolerated no one who stood up to him. Someone like Morty was no exception to his rules.

_Fear_ was what kept other people from tattling. _Fear_ is what kept people from trying to overthrow him.

Of course, like at the party, Rick sometimes just wanted to have fun, so he avoided fights every so often. But if you actually made him mad, the chances were that you might not be able to walk the next day.

It was in this very moment that Morty realized just how powerful and terrifying Rick Sanchez truly was. His reputation for being ruthless and cruel was no longer just a rumor, it was _truth._ And Morty was his next victim.

Rick would fucking _demolish_ him. He barely even held a spark compared to Rick’s bonfire. The brunette’s heart was pounding in his chest rapidly, and his breathing picked up slightly. He hadn’t been this terrified of a bully in _years_.

He frantically yanked his arm out of Rick’s hold, despite the fact that the action hurt his wrist. As Morty took a few steps away, they were both suddenly brought back to the real world, pulled away from the illusion. They both stared at each other with wide eyes, frozen in fear and shock.

Before anything more could happen, Morty quickly spun on his heels bolted down the hallway, weaving around other students in order to distance himself from Rick. All he wanted to do was get out of there.

But Rick was following right on his tail, even as Morty slowed to a walk. There was no way he’d be able to outrun Rick, and he knew it, so what was the point in even trying? He was just going to get the shit beat out of him. _Again._ And he _knew_ this was going to be worse than the other times. It was going to be _so much worse._

“Morty!” Rick snapped from a few feet behind him, but Morty only shrunk down and _kept walking._ He couldn’t deal with this. He didn’t _want_ to deal with this.

“Morty, _would you stop?”_ Rick caught up and yanked Morty back by the shoulder.

Morty squeaked as he was pulled back, looking anywhere but at Rick as the bigger teen held him in place. He held his history book close to his chest in a defensive manner. _Fuck,_ he was so fucking screwed. Why did it have to be _Rick Sanchez_ of all people? Why did it have to be _him_ that barged into his room at a house party? _Why him?_

“I-I... I’m sorry,” Rick said, sighing heavily. “I... I shouldn’t have done that, Morty, you didn’t deserve that.”

“I-I-If y-y-you w-wanna b-beat me up, just g-get it over with, Rick.” Morty stammered, still not looking at him. He instead focused on one of the tiles on the floor. He could handle this, right? Another bully beating him up? He’s been dealing with Brad and Frank for years. He can handle one more, right?

“I’m not gonna beat you up, Morty!” Rick snapped, pulling away from him and growling in frustration.

Morty finally looked up at him, watching as Rick paced in front of him like a caged animal, pulling at his hair. He didn’t know what to say. _Rick_ was the one that was being frustrating and confusing. He kept flipping between acting like his ally and acting like his enemy. He didn’t _know_ what he was supposed to do. It’s like Rick was playing some stupid game with him, and he wasn’t fucking enjoying it at all.

“Why do you think I wanna beat the shit outta you?!” Rick tuned to face him, his eyes still showing his anger, but there was confusion and frustration laced somewhere inside of it.

Morty knew he had to choose his words carefully, but Rick’s question was just so stupid and so obvious that there was only one thing he could even say. “You just p-pinned me against a locker and th-th-threatened me!” He glared. “H-how— what did you expect me to think...?” He trailed off defeatedly, his shoulders slumping.

Rick stared at him for a long time, and all Morty could do was fidget under his scrutinizing gaze. He looked like he was lost in a troubling thought as his eyes trailed over Morty’s small frame. When Rick finally _did_ speak, it was completely off topic. “What happened to your eye?” He asked calmly.

Morty rose a hand up to cover his eye, an embarrassed blush dusting over his cheeks. “Nothing.” He muttered quietly, avoiding eye contact with Rick, who was still staring at his face.

Rick sighed through his teeth. “Brad did that, didn’t he?” He asked defeatedly.

Morty scoffed, though he was secretly glad for the change of subject, even though it wasn’t much better than the other one. “I-I already told you he would, remember?”

“Y-yeah, but I thought you were exaggerating...” Rick trailed off, scratching the back of his neck. He seemed genuine, but Morty couldn’t be sure.

“I wasn’t... I get b-b-beat up by him pretty often anyway, so this wasn’t that big of a deal.” It really wasn’t, at least not from Morty’s perspective. Getting beat up occasionally was just as ordinary as eating breakfast every morning. Morty slowly pulled his hand away from his face now that Rick wasn’t actively staring at it.

Rick looked very uncomfortable for a moment, his eyes darting around the room much like Morty’s had earlier. “Do... you want me to take care of him for you?” He asked hesitantly.

Morty furrowed his brow. “ _What?”_ He asked, his confusion very evident. It sounded like Rick was offering to murder Brad for him. _What the fuck...?_ “What d-do you even mean by that?”

“I can get him to leave you alone.” Rick clarified, looking serious. “I can talk to him and tell him to stop. If he doesn’t listen, I have ways of making him. I’ve got plenty of dirt on him, and if that doesn’t work, I could always beat him up.”

Morty just stared at him for a moment, unbelieving. “ _Why_ w-would you even want to help me?” He asked. “Y-y-you really are the most confusing person I’ve ever met...” Morty let out a weak chuckle, reaching a hand up to run a hand through his hair as confusion slammed through him, just like it did with every encounter he had with Rick. He just couldn’t figure this guy out, could he? He just couldn’t win. 

“I-I don’t even know myself, Morty, don’t ask me...” Rick grumbled, sounding almost defensive. “Do you want me to talk to him or not?”

Morty picked at the corner of his text book, really thinking about his answer. He sighed. “N-no,” He said. “H-he would just find another victim to beat up, y-y’know? People like him need to get their frustrations out _somehow,_ and I guess I just happened to be the selected punching bag. If I-I’m off limits, then he’ll just... find someone else. I’d rather him beat up _me_ than someone else.” He had a finality in his tone that left no room for argument.

Rick shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, looking almost disappointed. “ _Fuck,_ okay, fine, I won’t say anything.” He groaned.

The late bell went off, and Morty flinched. “A-Aw, geez, I-I-I g-gotta get to class!” He stammered, starting to make his way to his history class. Ms. Green was so gonna yell at him for being late, but he was super thankful for the excuse to leave.

“Morty?” Rick called out to him, and Morty tensed, turning back to give him a questioning look. “See ya in science class?” He asked, almost like he knew Morty was planning on skipping it. He sounded hopeful.

Morty hesitated, not really knowing how to answer. He definitely did _not_ want to go to science class, because not only would he have to see Rick again, but he’d also most likely have to deal with those other three girls. “Um...” He cleared his throat anxiously, feeling like the biggest idiot in the world, because the hope in Rick’s voice was bending his fucking will. “Y-y-yeah... see ya in s-science class, Rick...”

Rick gave him his signature smirk. “Cool.”

And with that, the two teens headed their separate ways for the time being.

Morty could only dread going to science class.

* * *

 

Olivia, Morty’s lab partner, was leaned over the counter with her phone practically glued to her face when Morty caught sight of the Bunsen burner. Olivia’s long raven black hair was right over it, and before Morty could react, it had caught on fire. Almost as soon as it happened, Morty could smell it— burnt hair had a very distinct smell, and it reminded Morty of that one time Summer had accidentally used her straightening iron for just a little too long.

“Oh shit—! Olivia! _YOU’RE ON FIRE!”_ Morty gasped, reaching for the fire extinguisher that was attached to the wall near them. As he pulled it from the wall, Olivia noticed her predicament as well, and started shrieking at the top of her lungs, jumping up and down and throwing her arms around like a woman gone mad. How she thought the action would help her in any way was beyond Morty, but he decided to think about that later.

Faster than Morty had ever done anything before in his life, he pulled the pin from the fire extinguisher, held the nozzle in the direction of her flaming hair, and pulled down the trigger.

Olivia screeched even louder when Morty started spraying her with the white foam, or whatever the hell it was that was in fire extinguishers.

After Morty was sure the fire was out, he let go of the trigger, panting harshly as his heart beat rapidly in his chest. Everyone was staring in their direction. Olivia was covered head-to-toe in the foam, and she looked absolutely horrified.

“You’re a fucking psycho, Morty Smith!” Olivia screeched, and it made Morty recoil for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell me my hair was catching on fire?! I bet you _wanted_ to see me covered in a bunch of white stuff, you _pervert!”_

Morty reached past her to turn off the Bunsen Burner and set the fire extinguisher down on the ground, his eyes still wide and his chest was heaving from the adrenaline and anxiety that was coursing through him. “I-I-I-I d-d-did-didn’t s-see-see it in t-time...” Morty stammered anxiously. “M-maybe y-y-you should’ve been... b-been paying more attention to what you were d-doing, instead of zoning out on y-your phone...”

He didn’t mean for it to come out harsh, but it did. And he regretted it, because then Anna and Jasmine, as well as a bunch of others, started yelling at him as well, calling him a jerk for being mean to her when she’d just gotten half of her hair burnt off (Even though it was only the ends that got burnt).

Everyone kept arguing, scolding Morty for being a perv and an asshole, and the brunette cowered underneath the pressure. The teacher wasn’t there, having left for a moment to use the bathroom, so nothing could stop them now.

So many people were crowded around him, screaming and scolding, and Morty couldn’t understand very much of it other than the fact that they were all against him, demanding a response that he was incapable of giving.

He felt so small already, but now he felt like he was shrinking under everyone’s words, everyone staring at him, everyone yelling. Morty was shaking, tears threatening to spill from his large, green eyes.

Too much was happening, too many people were yelling, and Morty’s brain was struggling to keep up with all of it— everyone kept telling him how stupid he was, everyone just _wouldn’t stop yelling._

And just when he was about to break down, just when he was about to lose it—

“EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Morty heard Rick’s voice bellow so loud that it was heard over everything else, and everyone went eerily silent in under a second, snapping their heads in Rick’s direction. He had climbed up onto one of the lab tables, his hands on his hips like a particularly angry parent. He had the same look on his face that he had earlier when he’d angrily pinned Morty against the locker— like an angry wolf ready to devour its prey. Except this time, it was directed at _everyone_ instead of just Morty, and it seemed even more intimidating than before.

Morty took this distraction as his chance to duck underneath the lab table so no one would see the tears flow down his cheeks. He pulled his knees up to his chest, trying desperately to stop himself from crying and shaking like the pathetic piece of shit he knew he was. He could feel the panic attack settling in, digging its claws deeply into his flesh and crawling all the way down to his very soul. It was all he could do to keep quiet so no one would hear or find him.

“YOU GUYS NEED TO CALM THE FUCK DOWN, ALRIGHT?!” Rick continued to yell, and judging by the silence, everyone was either intently listening to his words or too terrified to speak up. “Morty fucking _helped_ you, Olivia! Your hair caught on fire, and he saw it, so he helped you! Nothing more, nothing less!”

Olivia wined. “But, Ricky—“

“OLIVIA, SO HELP ME IF YOU CALL ME THAT ONE MORE TIME, I WILL NOT HESITATE TO BURN THE REST OF YOUR HAIR OFF!” Rick snapped, and a few gasps could be heard throughout the small crowd.

Olivia scoffed. “But, _Rick,_ you said so yourself, he’s a pervert. He totally planned it.”

“Why the fuck would he go through the effort of destroying your stupid fucking hair just to see you get covered in white stuff?!” Rick demanded an explanation from her through grit teeth. “What _proof_ do you have that he would do that?! I mean, _seriously,_ It doesn’t even really look like cum, Olivia! It wouldn’t even be worth the trouble!”

“W-well...” The raven-haired girl stammered, seeming anxious all of a sudden. Maybe it was the insult to her hair, or the fact that she didn’t have any proof. Morty didn’t know, and he certainly didn’t care. He was too busy trying to keep silent while sobbing under the lab table. “H-he gives me weird looks all the time, like he’s sizing me up...”

“That means nothing!” Rick snapped. “Every horny teenage boy is gonna give you weird looks no matter how gentlemen-like they are! Even _I_ do it, but setting a girl’s hair on fire is too much fucking work! All it does is ruin their hair!”

“ _Fine,”_ Olivia muttered under her breath. “I don’t have any proof, then.”

Everyone broke out into a loud murmur, whispering among each other. “Shut up!” Rick snapped again. “Don’t spread drama! This whole situation was fucking stupid, and if I catch anyone talking about it, I won’t hesitate to rip their head off!”

Everyone stayed silent after that, and barely a few seconds later, the bell rang, and everyone started scrambling to put all of the science equipment away and gather their stuff.

Jasmine and Anna had crowded around Olivia, whispering to her about how they believed what she said, and they tired to help her clean up all of the foam. And pretty soon, the classroom was empty.

All except for Morty, who stayed put, hiding under the table, tears still heavily flowing down his cheeks. His heart hurt _so much_ inside of his chest, and he couldn’t get it to _just stop._ He’d never felt pain like this. An _entire_ room had ganged up against him, and it _hurt._ So many people—  _so many people hated him._ He just wished one person would care about him— just _one_ person. 

He couldn’t seemed to breath properly, and his heart was beating so hard against his rib cage that he was sure the rest of the school could hear it if they tried.

All he’d done was try to help. What had he done wrong? He wished someone would tell him what he’d done. He wished someone would tell him why he was such a fuck-up, because maybe he’d finally be able to fix it.

“Morty?” Someone grabbed his arm, and Morty first reaction was to flinch so hard that he hit his head on the table. Rick yanked his hand back like he’d been burned. “Jesus, sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you...” He said.

Morty cradled the top of his head, gasping for breath. “J-j-just go away, R-Rick...” He pleaded through his tears. “ _Please,_ j-just leave me alone...”

Rick sighed heavily. “I-I’m...” He hesitated. “Don’t freak out, I’m gonna pull you out, alright?” He said, and Morty didn’t respond. He’d hardly even heard what he said.

Rick reached out to Morty again and grabbed him by his forearm. Morty flinched again, though not as badly as he had the first time, and Rick slowly managed to pull Morty out.

Morty’s breathing sped up, and he looked like he didn’t really know what to do with himself. He was back to not looking at Rick, and he couldn’t stop shaking. He was so humiliated that Rick was seeing him like this, and it definitely wasn’t helping his panic attack go away. He was so damn vulnerable right now. Rick could literally do anything to him right now and Morty wouldn’t have the ability to stop him.

He waited for the insults, for maybe a punch to the face. _Anything._

But none of that stuff ever came.

Rick sighed again, his expression softening. “Alright, Morty, c’mon,” He said, helping Morty get to his feet. He helped Morty gather his stuff, and then he helped put Morty’s hoodie back on, which he’d previously taken off so it wouldn’t get in the way of the lab experiment.

He pulled the hood over Morty’s face to hide it, and before Morty knew it, Rick was guiding him through the hallway with a hand on his shoulder. They made it to a back exit, and left the school. And that’s when Morty finally decided to question what the hell was going on.

“W-w-wait, where the hell are you— where are we going...?” He asked shakily, even as the two of them continued to walk. Morty looked over his shoulder, staring at the door that they’d left through. He’d only skipped school a handful of times before in his life, but he’d usually just hid out in the bathroom during those times. He’d _never_ actually left school altogether.

“I dunno,” Rick shrugged. “J-Just wanted to get the hell outta there. And before you complain about s-skipping, you skipped science class yesterday, so... you’d be a hypocrite.”

Morty wiped at his face with his sleeves, sniffling. He was finally starting to calm down a little bit, even though there were still a few stray tears falling from his eyes. He didn’t know if he could show his face in that school ever again, but... just getting out of there for now was making him feel a little better. “W-why do you do that?” Morty asked out of the blue, his voice cracking on the last word.

“Do... _what,_ exactly?” Rick asked in a confused tone. “Y-y-you’re going to have to be more specific.”

Morty frowned, sniffling lightly. “That!” He gestured to Rick. “A-are you mocking me, or something?” God, he sounded too fucking vulnerable right now.

Rick still looked confused for a moment before his eyes widened in realization. “Oh, you mean the... _stuttering.”_

“Yeah, t-the stuttering...” Morty said defeatedly, looking down at the ground as Rick guided him through the parking lot. He hugged his books closer to his chest.

“You probably won’t believe me, but I really do have a stutter,” Rick spoke quietly, as if he feared someone else might hear him. “I-I just don’t feel the n-need to suppress it around you...”

Morty stayed quiet, not sure if Rick meant because _he_ had a stutter himself, or if Rick was saying that he felt comfortable around him. In the end, he decided to shrug it off. He decided in his mind that this wasn’t really something he was going to ever share; it was information that Rick probably wouldn’t give out on normal occasions.

Rick searched through his back pocket and pulled out a set of car keys, twirling it around his fingers as they arrived at an old, beat up looking red pickup truck.

Rick unlocked it and got into the drivers seat before gesturing for Morty to hurry up in get in the passengers seat.

Morty seemed have lost his goddamn mind for a moment, because he actually listened and got inside. It wasn’t until he set his books down by his feet and buckled in that he realized how much of a stupid decision that was, because _holy cow,_ he just got into a car with a guy he hardly even knew— the very same person who had earlier not only tried to break into his locker, but had nearly beat the crap out of him, too.

Morty shook his head. It was too late to back out the second Rick pulled him out from under the desk. “T-t-thanks, by the way...” Morty mumbled, referring to Rick standing up for him. “But... y-you know you didn’t have to do that, right?”

“No, I didn’t,” Rick said as he started up the car. It hummed to life, and Rick backed out of the parking spot. “But I did, and now we’re here.”

Morty hummed in response, laying his head against the window and staring out at the street as Rick started driving down the road. The glass was cool against his warm face, and he sighed contently, watching his breath spread across it. Rick turned the radio on, and he got lost in his thoughts listening to it, glad to be able to focus on something other than his disintegrating social life.

Or was it still even disintegrating? Was Rick trying to be his friend?

Morty almost laughed out loud at that thought. _‘No, Rick Sanchez wouldn’t ever want to be friends with a loser like me.’_ He thought sadly.

 

Rick made Morty feel so confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading everyone! I really appreciate it! <3


	5. Rehearing Answers in Your Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go to IHOP, people. I don’t know why. I just wanted it to be IHOP. (Tbh I’ve only been to IHOP like twice in my life before lol.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I’m glad everyone is enjoying the story so far! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter as much as the rest.

They ended up going to a restaurant called IHOP, and now the two of them were sitting on opposite ends of a booth with big, cushy, red seats. Both boys had menus in their hands, reading over the food options. The small restaurant buzzing with a low chatter, coming from both the kitchen and the costumers. The aroma of breakfast foods wafted through the air, and it made Morty’s mouth water.

“I-I’m not gonna get anything...” Morty admitted after a little while, laying his menu down on the table. He ran his hand along the edge of it as a distraction, picking at the corner of clear, plastic covering, which was warn down from its constant use throughout the restaurant.

Rick looked over his own menu, peering at Morty curiously. “Why not? Did you have a big lunch or somethin’?”

“No,” Morty shook his head, feeling kind of embarrassed. “I-I just don’t have any money, is all. I’m fine, though. I’ll just eat dinner when I get home.”

“I was already planning on paying _for_ you, Morty,” Rick gave him a skeptical look, almost as if Morty hadn’t noticed something that was so blatantly obvious. “I’m the one that dragged you out here, after all.”

“...Yeah, but... I-I-I don’t wanna take your money, or anything like that...” Morty sounded worn down, and he was. Today had been a long, humiliating day. He could still hear the insults and the yelling ringing inside his ears, a lingering sound that played on repeat in his mind.

“Morty, don’t you get it?” Rick asked, still staring at him over his menu. Despite the harsh words, his tone was gentle; almost worried.

Morty looked up to meet his eyes. He was at a complete loss at the meaning behind Rick’s words. “Get what?”

“I-I’m trying to make up for... for what I said yesterday. I really am sorry.” Rick slouched in his seat a little bit, looking guilty. It was weird, because Morty had never took Rick to be someone who would feel guilty over something like this. He did stuff like this all the time to a variety of different people. Why was it so different this time?

“Don’t know why you even bother trying, Rick...” Morty said with a small shrug of his shoulders. “Whether I’m hurt or not doesn’t affect your life at all...”

“It does, though.” Rick insisted. He had a bitter tone to his voice that Morty hadn’t failed to pick up on. It made him uneasy.

“But it shouldn’t.” Morty countered, and he was right on some level. They didn’t know each other— they shouldn’t _matter_ to each other. They were strangers. Rick shouldn’t be worrying about some random kid he doesn’t even know. “A-and that’s why I don’t understand why you’re doing this. I don’t know why you keep flipping back and fourth. First, we’re jumping off a roof together, then you’re telling lies about me, then your apologizing through text, and then you’re threatening me against a locker, and now we’re here...” He deflated slightly, sinking down in his seat.

Rick was silent.

“I-I need to know if you’re just going to keep doing that to me, or-or if you’re finally going to pick a side...” Morty stared down at his menu, still picking at the corner of it to try and calm his nerves. His other hand was hidden underneath the table, balled into a tight fist on top of his leg. Rick was so, _so_ confusing. He kept wavering between wanting to trust him and wanting to avoid him at all costs. He was somewhat scared of him, but at the same time he found himself standing up to him easily. He found himself wanting to be around him at the same time that he wanted to avoid him.

“Look, I keep...” Rick put his menu down and put both of his elbows on the table, pushing his palms into his eyes. “I-I keep _fucking up._ I-I don’t know why I... shoved you against the locker. I-I lost my temper because I knew you were right, and I-I’m sorry. So, please, just tell me h-how I can make up for it. I’ll do pretty much anything.”

Morty barked out a laugh. _Anything._ What a joke. Rick wouldn’t do _anything_ for some loser like him. His metaphorical _‘bullshit detector’_ was beeping frantically, pointing directly at Rick. “Y-y-you’d do _anything?_ That sounds like a joke...” He spoke his doubts honestly.

“I’m not joking! Just name it!” Rick said seriously, giving Morty a stern look. “Let me prove it.”

Morty sat up in his chair, folding his arms on the table. Might as well give it a try. He just needed to figure out what it was he wanted to ask him to do. There was nothing that Morty really wanted him to do. Even if there was something, Morty doubted he’d actually do it. But what if he was being genuine? He guessed he had nothing to lose, though. He had to at least play along with this, just to see. But what to ask was the real problem.

And then it hit him, like a fright train slamming into him on a set of steel train tracks.

“G-go on a date with my sister, Summer.” He said, a weak smile on his face. This could benefit both of them, maybe. Morty would get to see his sister be happy, and Rick might find out he fancies Summer. Maybe. Morty wouldn’t be upset if Rick ended up not liking her, but it would be nice to give them both a chance. “She’s had a crush on you for the longest time. And don’t lead her on, either. If you end up not liking her in the end, politely decline her, alright? And don’t tell her I asked you to do this.”

Rick rose a brow at the request as if it was one of the weirdest things he’d ever heard, and Morty couldn’t blame him. It was a little weird, but all he wanted to do was help his sister out. “Y-you want me... to go on a date with your sister?” He asked incredulously, wanting Morty to confirm what he’d said.

Morty shrunk down a little, his cheeks suddenly heating up with not only embarrassment, but some miss-placed jealousy as well. _‘Wait, what?! I’m not jealous!’_ Morty thought to himself, denying those random feelings that he shouldn’t be feeling. “Y-yeah...” He said quietly, and Rick had to strain his ears just to hear him. “Like I s-said, she’s had a huge crush on you since forever. Just... go on at least _one_ date with her. You never know, maybe you two’ll hit it off.”

Rick seemed to consider the idea for a moment before he shrugged. “A-alright, one date with Summer Smith it is.” He said.

Morty giggled, ignoring the jealousy that bubbled up inside of him. He had to remind himself that not only would him and Rick be incompatible, but also that Rick was as straight as a pole and would never date someone like him, even if he wasn’t. Plus, Morty was still planning on pretty much never coming out, so him and Rick would never be a possibility. He had to let go of those feelings before they bloomed any further. “Good, she’ll be so h-happy when you ask her.”

“Can I take your orders?” A waiter asked as he appeared by their table unexpectedly. Neither of the teens had even seen him coming, and Morty jumped slightly in his seat. Rick snickered for a moment, amused by how jumpy Morty was.

“Uh, yes, I’ll have a coffee and pancakes.” Rick said calmly, answering the waiters question.

“Would that just be the plain pancakes, sir?” The waiter jotted something down in his notebook. He was tall, with dark brown hair that was neatly cut with an excessive amount of hair jell in it to keep it looking nice. He was wearing a white dress-shirt with a blue apron over it. His name tag said _‘Alex.’_

“Yeah.”

“And would you like sausage or bacon with that?”

“Bacon, please.”

“Okay, and for you?” The waiter then turned to Morty.

Morty shook his head. “I-I won’t be having anything, but thank you.” He’d carefully rehearsed that sentence in his mind multiple times, and he felt a sense of pride swell within his chest at being successful.

The waiter nodded and was about to leave when Rick cleared his throat loudly to stop him. “Uh, he actually _will_ be getting something.” He said, calm yet firmly. “What do you want, Morty?”

Morty swallowed, and stammered out a few unintelligible words before he managed to say something about coffee and chocolate chip pancakes.

The waiter looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, I... didn’t quite catch what you said...?”

“He said chocolate chip pancakes and coffee. And I guess just get him bacon was well.” Rick spoke for him, and Morty blushed furiously from the sheer embarrassment. He had _not_  been prepared for that _at all._ It was even worse that Rick was ordering _for_ him. He was surprised the other teen even managed to decipher what he’d said.

“Right...” The waiter jotted down the information and gathered up their menus. He seemed thankful that Rick was able to answer for Morty. “I’ll have your coffees here in a minute.”

Morty gently laid his head on the table and groaned once the waiter was gone. “T-that was embarrassing...” He mumbled.

Rick laughed. It was a lighthearted sound that Morty found made his heart flutter— _no._ “Gee, M-Morty, didn’t rehearse that one in your head, huh?” He chuckled.

Morty pulled his hood over his head, wishing his hoodie could swallow him whole. He was surprised Rick nailed that observation perfectly, but he couldn’t help but be embarrassed. This was such a horrible day.

“Aw, c’mon, it wasn’t _that_ bad,” Rick reached across the table and pulled Morty’s hood off. Morty looked up at him, his face still as red as a cherry. Rick gave him a reassuring smile. “I-I mean, at least _I_ could understand you.”

Morty couldn’t help but giggle a little, which only made him feel _more_ embarrassed, so he sat up straight and hid his facbe in his hands. The sleeves of his sweater were pulled past his hands, covering his fingertips. _God, why was he blushing so much?_ “Y-yeah, because if you hadn’t understood me, I-I-I would’ve probably just started stammering even more instead of answering. S-sorry for being weird... social situation kinda j-j-just freak me out.” His voice was slightly muffled through the sweater.

Rick waved him off. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, Morty. Everyone’s got anxiety with somethin.’”

Morty pulled his hands away from his face and wiped them on his jeans, wishing they weren’t so sweaty. “Y-you have anxiety...?” He asked hesitantly, not sure if that kind of question would set Rick off or not.

Rick froze for a moment before slowly nodding. “E-everyone does from time to time. Some more than others, like you, I guess. I-I-I get nervous when I play my guitar in front of people...” He looked away sheepishly.

Morty smiled, still flustered from everything. “W-well, from what I’ve heard, you’re amazing at it. Y-you’re definitely better at working through it than I am...” Morty had yet to actually hear Rick play anything, but he wasn’t lying when he said he’d heard all about it. Morty didn’t know for sure, but he thought he heard Summer say something about him being in a band? Called _The Flesh._.. something? He didn’t know. Maybe he’d ask later.

“It’s k-kinda cute, you gotta admit,” Rick chuckled, not seeming to realize who exactly he was talking to for the time being, and Morty _couldn’t breathe._ “You get flustered so easily.”

Morty’s jaw dropped open slightly, and he’s pretty sure his heart stopped beating for a moment. “W-wait... what?” The brunette flushed even more, if that was even possible. _Did Rick Sanchez really just say that to him?? Did he really just call him cute?? What the fuck—?_

Rick seemed to realize what he’d said, and his eyes widened, a light blush coming over his face. He opened his mouth a couple times, but quickly closed it, like he kept forgetting what he was trying to say.

Before he could get anything out, the waiter returned. “Two coffees,” He said, setting the cups down in front of them. “Your pancakes will be out shortly.”

As the waiter left once again, the two teens watched him go, if only to avoid the horrible awkwardness that had sprung from Rick’s words. Once he disappeared through the kitchen door, however, they had no choice but to face each other once again.

Rick cleared his throat nervously, turning back to look at Morty with an almost horrified expression.

 

“Sor—“

 

“So, wh—

 

“ry about—“

 

“y where you—

 

“that, I—“

 

They both spoke at the same time.

“O-oh...” Morty coughed awkwardly into his arm. “Didn’t mean to interrupt you...”

Rick looked just as uncomfortable as Morty did, shifting awkward in his seat, his brows furrowed. “Y-you can go first...” He offered stiffly, refusing to make eye contact with the other teen.

“I-I was asking why you were trying to break into my locker earlier...?” Morty said with a hopeful, hinting sort of tone. He hoped Rick understood what he was trying to do. This was their chance to pretend that Rick had never said what he had said. It was a fast exit from an awkward situation, shiny and glowing in big, attention-grabbing, neon-red letters.

Rick seemed confused by the change of subject for a moment, but once he understood, he seemed to relax a little. He let out a long, relived breath of air. “O-oh, uh... _well,”_  He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded up piece of paper. He held it up between his index and middle finger for Morty to see. “It probably wasn’t the best way to go about it, but I was trying to give this to you...” He held the paper out to Morty.

The brunette sighed in relief when Rick willingly took the bait, and he took the note from Rick. Curiously, he unfolded it. It was a note, and it read:

 

**_‘Morty,_ **

****

**_I’m sorry about what happened yesterday. I didn’t mean what I said. Can we please talk?_ **

****

**_-R.S.’_ **

 

Morty read the note over twice just to be sure he read the words correctly.

Skeptically, he looked back up at Rick, still holding the note in his hand. He was still struggling with this. Rick really did keep going back and fourth. What if after this he started being mean again?

But... _what if_ he was actually being genuine...?

Morty folded the note back up carefully, not really sure what to do with it. Should he put it in his pocket, or give it back to Rick, or...?

Morty just decided to put it on the table next to his coffee for now. “It’s okay, Rick,” The smaller teen smiled. Rick was being persistent about this apology, and he hadn’t given up just because Morty was being a little frustrating about the whole thing.

That had to count for something, right? Maybe he really did mean it. _Just maybe._ “I except your apology.” He said, and he really meant it. He still had his doubts, but he was willing to give Rick another chance. Maybe he’d regret this, like he regretted a lot of things, but he wanted to give him a second chance.

Rick sighed in relief, almost as if a heavy weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Though, call Morty crazy, but... Rick still looked kinda disappointed.

Morty frowned in worry. Maybe he’d said something wrong? “Y-you okay, Rick...?” He asked hesitantly.

Rick rubbed his eyes. “Y-yeah, I’m good, Morty.” He said, but Morty could still sense that something was off. He decided to drop it, though. It’s not like they were friends, right? Unfortunate— or fortunate, maybe?— circumstances are what put them in this situation. They weren’t best buddies out eating together for fun. Rick had simply wanted to apologize to the stranger that he’d hurt.

The waiter reappeared carrying their food. “Pancakes for the fella over here,” He said, putting a plate of pancakes in front of Rick. “And chocolate chip pancakes for you,” He placed another plate in front of Morty.

A few thank you’s were said as the waiter left to tend to other customers.

The two teens ate in silence for a while, although it wasn’t at all awkward or tense. It was a content silence.

Morty had a small smile on his face as he indulged himself in the delicious taste of his chocolate chip pancakes. It had been a while since he’d gone out to eat at a restaurant. Usually his Mother would cook for them, and while there was nothing wrong with that, there was just something about eating in a restaurant that Morty had always enjoyed.

Maybe it was the atmosphere, or the lack of argument shared between his parents. He didn’t know.

Rick finished his food way before Morty did, having scarfed it all down quickly. Morty chuckled quietly to himself when he saw Rick lean back and start sipping at his previously untouched coffee; his plate empty except for some left-over syrup.

When Morty finished eating, the waiter returned to take their plates and hand them the bill. The brunette cringed at the sight of it, once again reminded that Rick was the one who was paying for both of them.

Rick pulled out his wallet and slapped a few bills down on the table before getting up. Morty gulped down the rest of his coffee, which had at least six of those little creamer cups in it, before grabbing the note he’d left on the table and following after Rick and out into the parking lot.

Once inside the car, Morty spoke. “T-thanks again, Rick...” He said, meaning just about everything. The apology, the food, and for standing up for him. He hoped Rick knew that he was basically thanking him for everything.

“No problem.” Rick said.

School had ended a while ago, so Rick drove Morty home, having remembered the address from the party last Friday, plus the previous ones that Summer had thrown.

Morty waved to Rick as he drove away from the house, holding his books firmly against his chest. Things were finally going back to normal, he hoped. Maybe he’d have some trouble for the next couple of days still, but he hoped that soon he’d be able to once again fade into the background of life.

Maybe him and Rick would never talk again, but... he knew that after this they would somewhat have an understanding of each other.

In the back of Morty’s mind, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Rick had said earlier... about him being _cute,_ or whatever-the-fuck. It was probably just a slip-up of words or something. _Hopefully_ It was a slip-up and he didn’t actually think that, because then things would get weird (not that they weren’t already weird).

When he walked in through the front door, he was greeted by his parents who quickly bombarded him with questions about the mysterious person who’d driven him home.

Jerry seemed suspicious of the situation, somewhat convinced that Morty was hanging with the wrong crowd. Beth, on the other hand, was exited that he’d ‘finally made a friend.’

Rick... could _possibly_ be considered _‘the wrong crowd,’_ but other than skipping school, they hadn’t really done anything wrong. And Morty doubted that he and Rick were friends. Acquaintances was a better word for it.

Morty told them that he’d missed the bus, and asked someone from school to drive him home. He told them that he reason he was late was because said person from school had to run a few errands before dropping him off. And they bought it, thankfully.

Morty went to bed that night, hopeful that tomorrow would be brighter, for once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you guys liked it! <3


	6. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically, Summer is a bitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m posting this chapter earlier than I usually would because nothing else was updated today. Enjoy!

 

Rick didn’t want to go on a date with Summer Smith. 

He’s known for a long time that Summer liked him, but he’d just... never really been into her. She was too loud and demanding, and while she didn’t make up stories or do anything cruel to get it, she seemed to really like attention. She seemed to think the world revolved around her, and Rick didn’t really like people like that. 

Though, Rick did have to admit he was a little bit of a hypocrite for saying that. He, himself, sometimes believed the world revolved around him, and he caught himself being a selfish prick at times. 

He sometimes had to remind himself that the world _didn’t_  revolve around him, and that he was just a stupid teenager trying to have fun; just like every other teenager ever. He was definitely a bit of a narcissist at times, though he was trying to work on that.

But anyway, the only reason he was currently walking up to the lunch table where Summer Smith usually sat and sitting down next to her was because Morty had asked him to do this. He didn’t know what the hell it was about that kid, but he felt inclined to make up for what he’d done the other day before science.

Maybe it was because he thought Morty was generally a pretty alright guy, or maybe it was because of that... that _look_  he’d had on his face when he caught Rick red-handed, telling lies behind his back. That look had literally made Rick shiver, the betrayal and hurt conveyed perfectly through Morty’s emerald green eyes. He never wanted to see that look on the brunette’s face again. He shivered again at the thought.

Yesterday had been awkward at best when Rick had accidentally let it slip that he thought the brunette was _‘cute.’_ He just hoped the other boy didn’t think anything of it...

“Hey, Summer,” He smirked at the ginger as he sunk down into the empty seat next to her.

Summer looked surprised for a moment. “ _Heyy_ , Rick, what’s up?” She giggled. The other girls around her table giggled along with her, all attention now focused on him.

“Nothin’ much, sweetheart, just came over to tell you that I’ve got an extra ticket for this concert I’m going to.” He said coolly, looking at Summer with a flirtatious gaze. He was able to figure out Summer’s favorite band through a few of her friends, and they just so happened to be conveniently having a concert nearby tonight.

“Oh,” Summer giggled again, flashing her pearly white teeth at him with an equally flirtatious smile. Her cheeks were now a rosy red, just as they always became whenever Rick would talk to her. “Are you going to ask anyone to go with you?” She asked, as if she didn’t already know the answer. They were just beating around the bush at this point, and Rick found it to be annoying.

Rick could have totally said no and broken her heart right then and there. But he wasn’t going to do that. This was the agreed favor he was doing for Morty. It was only one date, and that was it. Rick had no idea why Morty wanted him to do this, but he didn’t question it. Maybe he was just trying to help his sister out. “Would you like to go with me, Summer?” Rick asked. “As a date? I’d love it if you went with me.”

Summer blushed furiously as the other girls around the table all placed their hands over their hearts, and unanimously dragged out the word _‘Awwwww...’_

“I’d love to!” Summer bated her eyelashes at Rick. It was obvious how head-over-heels for him she was. “So, when is it?”

“Tonight,” Rick grinned. “I’ll pick ya up at five.” He winked.

“Awesome!” The ginger-haired girl giggled once again. “See you then!”

As Rick got up to leave he heard all of the girls at the table begin to converse with each other, fawning and gossiping over what had just happened. Rick grinned as he walked away. He was such a charmer; could practically get any _girl_ he wanted.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Morty had managed to avoid all of the drama today, and his heart was practically skipping inside his chest. He got to make up that English test he failed the other day, and Olivia had been absent so he got to work on his lab project by himself, and he’d done it successfully (he didn’t talk to Rick in that class, unfortunately). He hadn’t run into Frank or Brad. It had been a good day.

A good, ordinary day, where Morty had managed to fade into the background once again.

When he and Summer got home, she told him that Rick had asked her out on a date during lunch (Morty hadn’t seen it because he was hiding out in the bathroom again), and while he felt that same pang of miss-placed jealousy from before, he was happy for his sister. So he smiled up at his big sister and happily congratulated her.

He wasn’t supposed to be jealous anyway. He didn’t... there’s no way he’d ever grow a crush on Rick. No way. _Nope._ He’d already learned this lesson from Jessica— the popular kids were people Morty didn’t _allow_ himself to have crushes on.

Jessica was a popular girl, and Morty didn’t stand a damn chance at getting her to return his affections. Asking her out had only lead to a broken heart and suffering.

Rick was probably the same way. He was a popular guy— _the_ most popular guy. If Morty was considered out of Jessica’s league, he was definitely out of Rick’s league, and even admitting that he had a crush on the guy— _which he totally didn’t_ — would only lead to a world of hurt.

Rick had turned everything upside-down and inside-out about five times since he’d met him.

It was a harsh roller coaster of emotions, and Rick, in the end at least, had been a beacon of light— the _‘knight in shining armor,’_ even though he’d technically had a part to play in all of the horrible things he’d had to deal with.

While that was the case, Morty knew that the random feelings that _shouldn’t even be there in the first place_ would die down soon. Him and Rick’d had their moments, but Morty was sure that it was officially over now. There was no reason for them to talk to each other anymore.

And if they ever did talk again, it would probably be through Summer, since Rick is going on a date with her soon. 

You never know, maybe it would work out between them. Morty hoped it would so that he could see Summer happy. She was almost always fawning over him, and Morty wanted to help her out a bit. Maybe Rick would like someone like Summer.

And if not, at least he gave Summer the opportunity.

Morty was sitting on the couch after his pleasant day of school, channel surfing, and trying to distract himself from his thoughts. He was watching some random show about these two brothers and their... apparently Angel friend?— that hunted supernatural things. He’d never watched the show before, so he wasn’t really following all that well. But it was entertaining, so he didn’t mind.

He was pulled from his TV trance when he heard someone knocking on the front door. That was probably Rick.

“Summer! I think Rick’s a-at the door!” Morty called as he stood from couch to yell up the stairs.

“Let him in! I’m putting on my makeup! I’ll be down in a sec!” Summer called back cheerily.

Morty cringed for a moment. It’s not that he didn’t want to see Rick, but he was afraid of how awkward it would be. Morty didn’t know how to act around him, especially after yesterday. He was used to expecting the worst from people, but he didn’t expect the worst from Rick right now. And that meant he didn’t know what he was even supposed to expect.

But, Rick was generally a cool and collected person (unless he was mad), so Morty hoped Rick would know how to make it not-awkward. Popular people always had a way of doing that.

Hesitantly, Morty reached for the door and opened it. And there was Rick, in all of his glory. His hair was a little more kept than usual, and he was wearing black dress-pants and a white button down shirt. _‘Proper date clothing.’_ Morty thought to himself, and he could feel his cheeks growing warm.

“H-h-hey, Rick,” Morty coughed awkwardly into his arm. He needed to stop... whatever he was doing, and just act normal. “Y-you must be here for Summer. She’ll be down in a minute. Y-y-you can come inside, if you want.”

Morty stepped to the side and Rick gladly stepped through the threshold, wiping his shoes politely on the doormat. “Hey, how’s it going?” Rick asked, smiling at Morty kindly.

“T-today was pretty good, actually,” Morty smiled back, closing the door and leading Rick into the living room. It was going pretty good so far; no random awkward tension. He sat down and Rick followed suit, sitting in the armchair next to the couch, which was usually reserved for Jerry. “H-how— how about you, Rick?”

“My day was pretty good, too,” Rick shrugged. The small talk was killing him, but he didn’t know what else to talk about. This whole thing felt like what it was supposed to be like between them, but it’s not how Rick _wanted_ it to be like between them. It was so weird.

Rick quickly wracked his brain for something more interesting to say. He huffed out a laugh as the memory played out in his head. “My bro Sam— w-we call him Squanchy for fun— He, uh, today he came to school high as fuck, and— and he devoured like three random people’s lunches when they weren’t looking.”

Morty laughed, wishing he could have seen it. He knew who Squanchy was; everyone knew that he was Rick’s best friend, along with this other person named Brandon, who was usually just referred to as Bird. He didn’t know the stories behind the nicknames, but they were well-known because of them. “H-he must have some guts coming to school high.” He commented.

Rick waved him off. “N-not really, the teachers don’t really do anything, y’know? If they caught him they’d probably just slap on one day of detention and be done with it.”

Morty nodded, knowing all too well about how careless the teachers at their school were. He’d seen plenty of teachers pointedly neglect to notice he was getting beat up in the hallways. “Y-yeah,” Morty rolled his eyes. “The teachers don’t really care about the students. O-our school has always been kinda shitty...”

“Yeah,” Rick responded, and then a thought made its way into his head. “Oh, uh, so I’ve been meaning to ask. How come I never see you at lunch?” He honestly couldn’t remember seeing the brunette in the cafeteria before, and he’d looked all over without success yesterday _and_ today.

“Oh,” Morty looked away. There it was. The awkward tension. He didn’t want to tell Rick, but he didn’t have a good excuse. “Um, well... I don’t eat lunch in the cafeteria anymore. I-I-I kinda just hide out in the bathroom so people don’t pick on me. I-It’s not exactly sanitary, but... it’s better than someone shoving your face into your food while you’re trying to eat it.” Morty let out a forced chuckle, thinking of all of the times that Frank had done that to him. It was only about three weeks ago that he started hiding in the bathroom, and he’d managed to avoid him ever since.

Rick recalled seeing that happen to a few people before. It was always that Frank kid doing it, too. The blue-haired teen suddenly felt anger rising up inside of him. He was gonna beat the shit out of Frank the next time he saw him. He was gonna strangle him until he passed out, kick his foot so far up his ass he’ll be tying his shoe laces with his _teeth!_

“Uh,” Morty cleared his throat awkwardly, watching as Rick’s face contorted with anger and his whole body tensed up. It was that same look he’d given him at his locker, and the same look he’d given the entire science class yesterday. “Y-y-y-y-y-you alright there, R-Rick?” Morty stammered, cringing at how bad his stutter was.

Rick looked up at him, eyes softening and shoulders relaxing slightly. He let out a long breath of air. “Sorry,” He said calmly. “It’s just... Frank is the only one I know who likes to do that. He always pisses me off...” He’d never liked that kid, and it wasn’t even the bullying he did that pissed him off.

He was always just trying to one-up him around every corner, acting like he was better than him because his family had a lot of money. They’d fought and argued with one another plenty of times before, and his hatred only ever grew for him. He wished he could just invent an ice-ray or something and turn him into a popsicle so we could shatter him into a billion tiny little pieces.

And it just figures he was one of Morty’s bullies. He was definitely gonna beat the shit out of Frank the next time he saw him, that’s for sure.

Morty went bright red, embarrassed that he’d set Rick off like that without even trying. “O-oh, shit, I-I-I, uh, I’m sor— I’m sorry, I didn’t know bringing him up would make y-y-you angry...” He started playing with the hem of his shirt nervously to try and distract himself somehow. _God,_ he was so pathetic. He can’t even handle one conversation with this guy without fucking it up somehow.

“No, Morty, it’s alright—“

“Hi Rick!” Summer cheerily interrupted as she entered the living room. She was all dolled up, with her hair put in a nice bun and her makeup done impeccably. She was wearing a pink, frilly Sunday dress, and she had a small cyan purse over her shoulder.

“Y-y-you look awesome, Summer,” Morty commented, smiling up at his older sister. She looked so happy.

Summer ignored him and instead turned to Rick. “I’m sorry if Morty bothered you at all, Rick,” She said, frowning slightly. “He can be weird and clingy sometimes.”

Morty’s smile slowly fell from his face like snow melting rapidly off of a roof. He turned back to the TV, which was still playing that one show from earlier.

“Oh, uh...” Rick frowned back at Summer, looking a little annoyed and uncomfortable with what Summer was saying. “I— he didn’t give me any trouble, really. He’s pretty cool, actually.” He glanced at Morty, who was still looking glumly at the TV.

Why would Morty ever want to help this bitch out?

Summer rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Whatever, let’s just go before my parents get home so they can’t stop me.”

“Right,” Rick nodded, standing from his chair. As he walked through the living room, he kept glancing at Morty, who still sat silently watching the TV. He stopped in the door way. “Morty?”

Morty turned his head to look over the couch with a questioning gaze. “Yeah, Rick?”

Rick was quiet for a moment before he spoke, an idea piping into his head. “See ya in science class?” He smirked, reiterating a conversation they’d had the previous day.

Morty’s smile returned, and Rick felt his heart swell with his accomplishment. “Yeah, see ya in science class, Rick.” He chuckled.

“Cool.” Rick followed Summer out the door.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The entire car ride to the concert had been a living nightmare for Rick. Summer was non-stop talking about school drama throughout the whole thing. She seemed to mean well most of the time, but it was just... overwhelming.

It got especially overwhelming whenever Summer complained about Morty. Of course, it was just natural for siblings to complain about each other, but it was hard for him to listen to, especially since he didn’t agree with a damn thing she was saying, yet had to pretend like he did.

He wished so badly that he could shove the fact that _Morty_ was the only reason he was taking her on a date in the first place, but he didn’t. Morty didn’t want Summer to know that he was the one who asked him to do this.

Why would Morty ever want to waste his generosity and kindness on this girl, even if she _was_ his sister? She was just so bitter and self-centered. If Rick had a sister like this, he would’ve avoided her at all costs, and he definitely wouldn’t be doing her any favors.

“—And he’s _always_ stuttering. It makes him sound retarded.”

“Hey!” Rick jumped in, glancing at Summer with an annoyed look. “You really shouldn’t use that word, Summer. And you know he can’t control it, right? It’s like... he can think what he wants to say in his mind, but his mouth doesn’t really wanna cooperate. He doesn’t have a choice _but_ to stutter sometimes.”

Rick, himself, knew what that was like. Except his stutter wasn’t as severe as Morty’s, and if he really focused on what he was saying, it wouldn’t show up in his speech at all. He felt more comfortable around Morty than he did with anyone else, as weird as that sounds, so he tended to slip out of that mentally around him and he was right back to the stuttering. He hated it, and he’d felt a pang of guilt fall into his stomach yesterday when Morty asked if he’d been mocking him.

“Rick, what the hell?” Summer frowned at him. “Why do you keep defending him? He’s just a little brat.”

Rick’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white from the strain. He took a few moments to respond, trying to calm himself. He had to be nice. For Morty’s sake if not for Summer’s. “Yeah, I guess he is. Sorry, please continue?” He sighed, expertly feigning cool agreement.

Summer looked at Rick suspiciously. “Rick... you don’t seem really into this...” She said glumly.

“What? What’re you talking about?” Rick glanced at her again. He could feel his hands start to sweat. “Why would I ask you out if I wasn’t into this, Summer? I asked you out for a _reason.”_

Summer’s suspicion didn’t falter in the slightest. “He set you up to this, didn’t he?”

At this, Rick frowned. “What are you talking about, Summer?”

“I’m talking about Morty!” Summer rose her voice. “He set you up to this didn’t he?! What, is it for revenge for something? Is he mad at me for basically calling him gay the other day? It just figures that he’d get you to pull some cruel prank on me!” The red head was practically raging now.

Rick nearly swerved into oncoming traffic at that, startling both of them. “Summer,  _what_ are you talking about?! Chill, alright?! Your brother didn’t set me up for shit! And if he tried, _why_ would I even listen to him?! I don’t even know him!”

It wasn’t _all_ a lie, he supposed. Morty didn’t exactly ‘set him up’ as much as he asked for a favor.

“You... he really didn’t set me up?” Summer asked quietly.

“No!” Rick groaned. “Your bother didn’t do anything! I’m doing this on my own accord.” The blue-haired teen had always been an expert at lying.

Summer chuckled lightly. “You know what? He’d be too stupid and shy to actually do something like that... sorry for assuming things. Haha.”

Rick had to suppress a growl. “It’s fine, Summer,” He said, even though it really wasn’t _fucking_ _fine._  “And as for the reason I don’t seem really into this, it’s because I’m nervous.”

Summers mouth dropped open. “You’re _nervous?!”_ She gasped. “But you’ve been on so many dates before! Shouldn’t you be used to it by now?”

Rick cringed. He’d been with a lot of girls before, but he’d only gone on a handful of meanful dates in his life. The first time was with a girl named Diane, and the second time was with a girl named Unity. Diane ended up having to move and they lost connection, and Unity dumped him. He’d really liked both of them at some point during their relationships, and it broke his heart when he couldn’t be with them any more.

“Well, yes and no.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “I just... really don’t want to fuck this up.” _Lie._ He didn’t give a fuck about this date as long as it got Morty to forgive him.

He still didn’t know why the brunette’s forgiveness was so important to him. All he knew was that the second Morty forgave him, things could finally go back to normal again. He didn’t understand why the kid made him feel so guilty for what he’d said. Usually he didn’t care about stuff like that. But he did this time, and it was like an uncomfortable, heavy weight on his shoulders.

He just wanted to make up for what he did to Morty so he could finally move on again.

”Oh, Rick,” Summer reached across the seat and patted Rick’s shoulder in a way that the blue haired teen thinks was somehow supposed to comfort him. “You won’t screw up, alright? Everything’s going to go great! I can feel it!”

With those words, Summer went off on another tangent about school drama that Rick didn’t care about. She was practically talking his ear off.

This was going to be a long, _long,_ night.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It wasn’t so bad once the concert actually started. 

Rick had managed to bribe someone to buy him and Summer some beer, and they were up high in the seats. Sure, it wasn’t the best spot, but it was dead center, and they could perfectly see the stage. Summer was a fun person to talk to when she wasn’t talking about school drama or complaining about her family.

When she started talking about her love for the band, she had this sparkle in her eyes that Rick thought was fitting on her. She looked better like this.

When the concert started, everyone exploded in to cheers, yelling and screaming for the band, Summer included. The songs went by, one by one, and Summer knew the words to every single one of them. Rick swayed along with her, mumbling the lyrics under his breath because he didn’t know them.

It was actually kind of fun hanging with Summer. She was confident and didn’t even care that people were staring at her erratic dance moves, and Rick danced right along with her. They shared the confidence and carelessness of others opinions of them. It wasn’t often that Rick was around people who were like this with him.

At some point, a slow song came on. Rick and Summer swayed with it as Summer quietly sang along. They were shoulder to shoulder, and in this moment Rick had really been enjoying himself.

That moment ended, however, when Summer suddenly placed her hands on his shoulders and stood up on her tippy toes so she could press her lips to his.

Rick went as still as a statue for a moment, feeling Summer’s lips move against his own. After a moment he started to kiss back, as he always did a when a girl kissed him.

He wasn’t enjoying the kiss as much as he thought he would. Summer was a beautiful girl, and she was generally a good person, despite her talkativeness. But he acted like he loved it. He quickly took control of the kiss, moving the two of them closer and expertly swiping his tongue around her mouth. He was experienced in this type of thing so he knew what was too much and what was too little.

When they broke the kiss, they were both breathless. Summer looked up at him with a dreamy look in her eyes and a large smile on her face.

And that’s when Rick knew he’d majorly fucked up. He should’ve never come on this date. He definitely did not like Summer romantically. She was a distant friend at best.

When Summer noticed the distress on Rick’s face she frowned. “W-... what’s wrong, Rick? Are you okay?”

Morty’s request for him to politely reject Summer should he not like her ran quietly in the back of Rick’s head, influencing his next actions. Rick stared at her for a moment before pulling away slowly with a sad sigh. “Shit, Summer...” He said, cringing at how awkward he felt in this moment. He hardly ever felt like this. Usually, he didn’t care if he was abrasive or nice as long as he got the point across.

“What?” Summer looked panicked. The slow song was still playing in the background, and she had to speak up just so Rick could hear her. “Was it... bad? Was _I_ bad?”

Rick groaned. “No, you were good.” He said, and it wasn’t a lie. Summer kissed him like she was experienced, and she probably was. “It was me...” He trailed off.

Summers eyes widened, and Rick could practically see the confusion inside of them. “What do you mean?”

Rick looked around, seeing how people were still swaying to the song around them, singing along like the world wasn’t watching. He didn’t want to ruin this whole experience for Summer. He looked back down at her, a deep frown on his face. “We can talk about it after the concert. Let’s just enjoy ourselves for the rest of it, yeah?”

Summer continued to look skeptically at him for a moment before she slowly nodded and once again focused on the concert. Rick did, too, and by the time the next song started, they’d already gotten so wrapped up in the music that they weren’t even thinking about the awkward afterglow of their kiss.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The car ride back was silent. Rick was purely focused on the road, not thinking about anything in particular. He was mostly just on autopilot, driving back to the Smith household. It wasn’t until they were a few blocks away that Summer decided to speak.

“So... what was with the kiss, Rick?” She asked, pulling the blue-haired teen from his driving trance. “Was it too early or something?”

Rick shook his head. “I’m gonna be completely honest with you, alright Summer?” He said, glancing at her.

Summer nodded.

“I took you on a date because of a deal I made with your brother.” Rick said plainly, knowing that Summer was about to freak out.

“ _WHAT?!_ ” Summer yelped, sitting up rail-rod straight in her seat. “What do you mean?! I thought you said it wasn’t a set-up!”

“It’s not a fucking set up, you idiot!” Rick yelled back, causing Summer to flinch. A hurt look crossed over her face, but Rick couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment.

“Look.” He said sternly, keeping his eyes on the road as he spoke. “I did some really bad shit to Morty, alright? At the party last Friday, shit happened, and we ended up hanging out for a little bit. People said they saw us, and they started asking questions, so I _lied,_ okay? I confirmed that he tried to have sex with me even though he _didn’t,_ and Morty got hurt because of it. I asked him what I could do to make up for it, and he said he wanted me to go on a date with you. And do you know _why_ he wanted that, _Summer?_ “ He ground out, glancing at her again.

Summer shook her head, looking guilty in her seat.

“He wanted me to do this because he knew you liked me, and he wanted you to be happy. He asked me to do this in hopes that we would hit it off, and you’d finally get your dream guy, or whatever.” Rick pulled into the driveway of the Smith household. “I guess some part of me wanted to see if it would work out between us, too, otherwise I wouldn’t have done it. But... I guess I just don’t like you in that way, Summer.”

Summer was silent for a long moment, and both of them could feel the awkward tension growing in the empty air around them. She let out a shaky sigh, burying her hands in her face. “I just don’t understand why he’d do that...”

Rick snorted. “I’m asking the same question inside my head. All you’ve been is mean to him, from what I’ve seen. You’re lucky he tried to make you happy at all.”

Summer let out an angered growl. “Whatever, Rick, thanks for the date, you ass.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and threw open the door. And before Rick could say anything in return, she’d already slammed it closed once again.

Rick watched her for a moment before backing out of the driveway and speeding off down the street. That was a disaster of a date.

He knew it wasn’t rational of him to snap at her like that. In fact, it was probably somehow going to make it back to Morty and the brunette would be hurt _yet again._ But he just... couldn’t hold it in. The way he’d seen Summer treat Morty had just really pissed him off.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Morty was still watching TV on the living room couch when Summer got home, having been sucked into the TV show which he now knew was called _Supernatural_. It was about two brothers, named Sam and Dean, and they hunt down supernatural things, like ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and more to save people.

He’d found out the show was on Netflix, and currently all of the seasons were on it, so he was supper hyped up to watch all of it. He was sure to binge-watch all of it within a couple months.

When the front door opened and slammed closed, Morty quickly paused the TV show and peered over the couch at Summer, whom he couldn’t see very well through the darkness of the house. It was 9pm, and the sun had long since gone down.

While Summer had been gone, Beth and Jerry had come home and Beth had made dinner. They’d asked where Summer was, and Morty told them she was just at the mall with some friends and would be back soon. And then he’d immediately went to find the rest of _Supernatural_ so he could watch it. He’d also unblocked Rick on instagram, not really feeling the need to keep him blocked since they were on good terms now.

“H-h-how was your date, Summer?” Morty asked in a hopeful tone. He really did hope it went well for them.

“ _Don’t even,_ Morty.” Summer growled, stomping angrily into the living room and flicking on the light switch. 

Morty blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light. Summer was glaring at him, and it made Morty recoil. 

She pointed and angry finger in his direction. “This is _your_ fault.” She said. “ _You_ set that date up. Rick told me all about it, Morty. You screwed everything up! I was working on our relationship slowly! I was gonna wait to make a move, but now I’ll never get to be with him! You made him move too fast!”

Morty leaned away from her, and his eyes flickered to the wall. He didn’t have to courage to meet her eyes at the moment. “I-I-I’m s-sorry, Summer—“

Summer held her hand up to stop him. “Just _shut up!”_ She snapped. “I don’t even want to hear it from you! All you do is fuck everything up, Morty! You _ruined_ my chances with Rick!”

Morty kept his mouth shut this time, feeling his eyes sting with unshed tears. He looked down at his lap, balling his hands into fists, willing them with his mind to stop shaking to no avail.

“I can’t believe you’d do this to me, Morty!” She continued to scold him as if he were a dog that had done something bad. “I wish I’d never even had a brother! You’re always getting in the way of everything!”

Morty stood from the couch, keeping his hands clenched at his sides. He still couldn’t seem to look at her. Shame and guilt stacked heavily on his shoulders. Summer was probably right. Pretty much everyone else would agree with her, too. _Everyone_. Even Morty himself agreed.

“Don’t talk to me for a while, Morty,” Summer seethed. “I can’t even stand to hear your voice half the time.”

With that, she pushed past him and stomped her way up the stairs, and Morty was left wondering, in the living room, if anyone even cared that he existed at this point. Did _anyone_ even want him? Did anyone _care_ about him?

Did anyone in this world _love_ him?

He fell back down on the couch numbly, staring at the paused TV show on the television.

The answer to all of those questions was no. Not a single person cared about him. Morty hardly even cared about himself, either. If he was so obviously useless, and everyone hated him, why shouldn’t he hate himself, too?

He didn’t always mind being alone, he guessed. It was peaceful to be by himself, because at least then no one (who wasn’t himself) was hurting him.

He actually preferred to be alone because of that specific fact, but it wasn’t always easy. Sometimes he wished he had a friend, or something. Maybe just someone to talk to and vent to.

It wasn’t worth searching for, though. He knew that. He’d only end up betrayed in the end. The closest friend he’d ever had was his older sister, and that had never turned out well.

Morty had a weird existential crisis in the realization that he’d never really had a friend before. He searched his mind, thinking about his childhood. He’d always been the quiet kid who sat in the back of the class and was blended into the background so well that no one noticed him, not even the teachers.

But when he was noticed, he always attracted the wrong people— the wrong attention. He was a loner, and that meant their was a huge target on his back for bullies.

_‘Strength in numbers,’_ is what they always say. But Morty was alone with no numbers to back him up.

He sighed, knowing now that he wouldn’t be able to watch his show without zoning out and getting lost in his thoughts. So instead of pressing play, Morty turned the TV off, set an alarm on his phone to wake him up in the morning, turned out the light, and laid down on the couch. He didn’t have the energy to climb the stairs all the way up to his room right now.

He stared blankly at the ceiling for a long while before his eyes drifted closed and he was swept into a dreamless sleep.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed! <3
> 
> And don’t worry, Rick X Morty stuff will start happening soon. Still a slow burn, though, so... yeah. Gonna take a while.


	7. Is a Knife Really Necessary?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank. Frank happens. I hate Frank. Have fun raging with me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it’s so late, haaa... totally not because I’m a lazy piece of shit. (But seriously, school plus marching band zaps away at least ninety percent of my time. Send help.)

When Morty woke up the next day, he was immediately in a rush. He’d set his alarm, but it had been set to quiet, and he hadn’t heard it. He ended up sleeping through it for a solid thirty-six minutes before his mom found him sleeping on the couch while she was getting ready for work and woke him up.

He practically bolted up the stairs, going two at a time, and threw open his bedroom door. He blindly grabbed a t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a new pair of underwear and changed out of clothes from yesterday and into the new ones.

He quickly brushed his teeth and combed his hair in the bathroom before rushing back down the stairs to grab a couple of plain, un-toasted slices of bread (he didn’t have time to do anything with the bread besides have it plain), and a granola bar, before running out the door right as the bus arrived to pick him and Summer up for school.

Summer ignored him as they boarded the bus, and Morty tried his best to keep his distance from her. She was obviously still mad at him. He _did_ fuck everything up, after all. _Again._

Morty was just going to try to stay out of her way from here on out, he decided. She didn’t want to be anywhere near him, and Morty didn’t want to burden her with his presence.

He sat down in an empty seat and started eating his improvised breakfast, wondering what the today would be like. He really hoped he didn’t have to talk to anyone. He didn’t want to even talk to Rick, who Morty might even be on decent terms with.

He was really gonna work towards not being noticed.

Morty looked down at his outfit, realizing that he’d forgotten his hoodie, which had done an amazing job at hiding his face from people for the past two days. Instead, he was simply wearing a band T-shirt for Queen. He loved that artist, but he didn’t usually wear a shirt like this to school. He usually stuck to plain clothes that would help him blend. But now he stuck out like a sore-thump compared to his usual attire.

It was weird how everyone seemed to like at least one of Queen’s songs, _Bohemian_ _Rhapsody_ being one of the most popular and well-known ones, and he’d still be bullied for wearing a shirt like this. Or, at the very least people would notice the shirt, and when they saw who was wearing it, they would become disgusted with the band. All become someone they didn’t like liked it.

Morty sighed, already excepting his fate. His black eye from Brad was nearly gone by now, but if looked at in the proper lighting, you could still see it as clear as day. Now he was probably gonna look even worse by the time school ended, and while he was excepting that it was bound to happen, he definitely wasn’t looking forward to it.

Morty leaned his head against the window, sighing. He wished he’d asked his mom if he could stay home today.

 

* * *

 

Morty knew he’d fucked up. He really, really fucked up.

Usually, Morty was one of the very first people in line for lunch. He always took a short-cut so that he could get there super fast and be gone before the flood of students came barreling in.

What he didn’t know, however, was that the short-cut he always took (outside one of the doors and a round the building to another set of doors) was actually against the rules, and he’d been stopped by a teacher today. They held him for at least five minutes, scolding him for being a bad kid and threatening to give him detention if he went this way again.

By the time he got to the cafeteria, it was packed full, so Morty had no choice but to wait in line. It was fine for a while, and Morty caught sight of all of the people he could name in there. Olivia, Jasmine, Anna, Rick, Sam, Brandon, Summer, Brad, Frank, and a few others he only knew the names of because they’d been classmates for years.

No one was paying attention to him at the moment, _thank god._ The brunette just decided to focus on getting his lunch. He was just a normal student doing normal things, like getting lunch. He didn’t know why he was a target for bullies, but maybe if he acted normal he could _be_ normal, too. He could just go back to being a loner who doesn’t have to deal with anyone— not even bullies.

Cautiously, he carried his tray across the cafeteria. He kept his eyes on both Brad and Frank in his peripheral vision.

So far so good. They didn’t even look in his direction. He saw Rick glance at him for a moment, but it was from the corner of his eyes so he had no clue if he’d actually seen him. He hoped Rick didn’t. He’d told Summer about the deal when he’d specifically asked him not to, and the end result was a catastrophe. Talking to him now would just make him feel like shit again for unintentionally hurting his sister.

When Morty made it to the door, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. He’d made it through the cafeteria without issue.

But then the back of his shirt was yanked back, and Morty choked for a second as the collar of his shirt dug unto his throat and momentarily cut hair air-flow off. He managed not to let his tray fall or spill all over him as he adjusted himself in the hold. He looked over his shoulder, and his eyes widened in panic when he saw Frank standing behind him, hand gripping tightly to the hem of his shirt.

He quickly yanked Morty out into the hallway. The brunette’s eyes desperately darted around the lunch room, hoping that maybe a teacher would notice that he was being dragged away. But he knew it was pointless to hope.

He let Frank pull him by his shirt down the hallways, and he let the bigger teen flip his tray, spilling his food all over him and the floor. He sighed, staring longingly down at his lunch tray. He’d been really looking forward to eating the apple that was now rolling down the hallway. His breakfast from this morning hadn’t been all that filling.

Frank shoved him up against the locker, pulling Morty from his longing breakfast thoughts. He didn’t react much other than a pained grunt.

“You’re long overdo for a beating, Smith.” Frank laughed in his face, finding some sort of sadistic pleasure in the situation. Morty only frowned at him. “Where you been, huh? Skipping lunch? Been lookin’ for ya, but you’re never around.”

Morty just continued to frown up at him. He didn’t have the energy to fight back right now. He was tired of everyone hating him. He was tired of hating himself, too.

Frank’s smile slowly fell in the presence of Morty’s reaction-less attitude. “What, you think you’re better than me?” He snarled, leaning closer to Morty ominously.

Morty sighed. “No, Frank, I’m just t-t-tired.” He said, and _‘of everything,’_ was left unsaid.

Frank didn’t seem to be satisfied by his answer. He growled in his face, reaching into his back pocket to pull something out.

Morty watched Frank’s hand slowly rise up with a mixture of curiosity and fear. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to actually find out what it was that he was pulling out.

And then, with a dull clicking sound, a blade popped up out of nowhere, and Morty gasped, straining against Frank’s hold. The motherfucker just pulled a switchblade on him! He needed to get out of this! _Now!_

He wasn’t afraid before, because he was used to getting bullied and beat up. It was just a normal thing. But now Frank had a fucking switchblade! He could actually fucking die right now! Frank could kill him so easily right now— just one quick swipe across his throat, and he’d bleed out before anyone even noticed he was hurt— before anyone had the chance to even dial 911 on the phones they constantly had their faces buried in.

His life was literally in Frank Palicky’s very hands, and he did not trust him in any way, shape, or form! Morty had never feared for his life more than he did at this very moment.

Frank pushed the switchblade up to Morty’s throat, and he let out a terrified squeak. “O-oh geez, oh f-fuck, Frank. I don't know if a knife is necessary. I-I-I-I mean, you know, y-you kind of had things handled with-with-without it!” He stammered, staring at the bigger teen in pure terror. “P-p-please, j-just... p-put the knife down! L-let’s talk about this—“

“You telling me how to bully now? Big mistake, Morty.” Frank cut him off harshly, pressing the knife closer so that Morty wouldn’t be able to talk without cutting his throat in the process. Morty held his breath, afraid that even _breathing_ at this point would lead to his violent demise. “And now I'm gonna cut you, 'cause my family's rich—“

Frank suddenly pulled away from Morty. He didn’t know why, but the answer was made clear when he saw a hand on Frank’s shoulder. _Someone else_ had grabbed him and pulled him away from Morty.

The brunette gasped in a breath of air when he was freed from Frank’s hold, tears pooling in his eyes. He could have _died_ just then!

“What the fuck do you want, Sanchez?” Frank seethed, and Morty looked up in shock, seeing that it was, in fact, Rick who had just now saved him.

“Off limits, Frank.” Rick growled. If looks could kill, Frank would be dead on the ground right now, because the look on Rick’s face was absolutely venomous.

Frank scoffed. “Says who?”

“Says _me_ Frank.” Rick took a step forward. He wasn’t near as large as Frank, but anyone who was smart knew that his size had nothing to do with his ability to bring Frank down in under ten seconds flat. Rick was pretty big himself, but he never used his size to to win a fight. He used his brain. Everyone knew that.

“Yeah?” Frank frowned at him, balling his his free hand into a fist and clutching the switch blade tighter in his other. He took a step into Rick’s personal space, looming over him ominously. “And whatcha gonna do about it, huh?”

“You have five seconds to get out of my face before I beat the shit out of you.” Rick said calmly, collected. But he still looked ready to murder him at the drop of a hat.

Frank didn’t move. “You think I’m scared of _you?”_ He spat, raising his switchblade up to threaten Rick.

His arm was barely half way up when Rick’s hand suddenly darted towards it. He grabbed ahold of Frank’s wrist in a vice grip, and pressed down on a pressure point that made the bigger teen cry out in pain and drop the knife. Rick quickly kicked the knife away and threw a punch right into Frank’s face, hitting him in the jaw.

Frank stumbled back, raising his hand to cup his face. When he managed to shake off the surprise, he lunged at Rick with a scream of rage, going to grab him around the middle and tackle him to the ground. But Rick was faster, and he side-stepped at the last moment, barely dodging the other.

Morty watched with wide eyes, backed up against the lockers. He couldn’t move. His mind was screaming at him to run! _‘Just get out of here!’_ But he couldn’t. He couldn’t do anything but watch the terrifying display before him.

“YOU’RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS, RICK!” Frank bellowed. A small crowd of students had left the cafeteria to whiteness the fight unfolding in the hallway.

Stupidly, Frank went to lunge at Rick again, as if he thought the other wouldn’t be able to dodge it a second time.

This time, not only did Rick side-step just in time, but he stuck his foot out just far enough to trip Frank and sent him flying to the ground.

He nearly face-planted, barely managing to catch himself with his hands. And before he could do anything more, Rick grabbed him by the arm, flipped him over ok his back and started punching him in the face.

He hit him one— two— three— _four_ times before he decided to stop, and he stood from the ground, breathing heavily with bloodied knuckles. The crowd of people had gotten larger and larger in those few seconds the fight had lasted. It’s like they had a radar inside their heads, letting them know where the nearest fight was.

Frank was crying on the ground. He now sported a bloody nose, a busted lip, and some bruises along his cheeks and jawline. Rick had gone easy on him. They’d faught before, and Rick had gone so much harder on him, but he never ceased to cry like a pathetic baby. He spat on him in disgust.

People in the crowd were whooping and cheering, and telling Rick to fight Morty next, who was trapped in the circle of students with him.

All Rick could see was red, still. All he could feel rage, and Morty was the only one he could take it out on right now.

Slowly, he stalked forward towards the brunette, who was looking very uncomfortable— chest heaving as he hyperventilated. Once Rick was directly in front of him, he grabbed the teen by the shirt and pulled him forward.

Morty yelped, clawing at Rick’s hands in an attempt to get him to let go.

“Get out of here.” Rick seethed angrily at him, leaning close to make sure Morty could hear him over the screaming students around them. “We’re even now. I’ll make sure Frank and Brad don’t bother you. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.” He released Morty’s shirt and pushed him back.

Morty stared up at him helplessly for a moment before he nodded and started pushing himself through the crowd and away from everything. He ignored the yells that were ringing in his ears and the fear coursing through his veins.

He just couldn’t understand Rick at all, but he guessed this was officially it for them. Even after how many times he’d thought that exact same thought, he knew it was really happening this time. He felt relived, but saddened by that— he didn’t know why, though. He didn’t have a reason to be sad. Him and Rick had never really been friends, right? Rick couldn’t have possibly liked him in any way...

Morty didn’t realize he’d started crying until his nose started to get all stuffed up, and he frustratedly started wiping away his tears. He found his way to the bathroom and locked himself in a stall. Rick’s words were playing over and over again inside his head.

Rick didn’t want to talk to him anymore. He was gonna take care of Frank and Brad for him, even though he didn’t exactly want Frank and Brad to be taken care of in fear that they might target other students as replacements. But there was nothing he could do about it now.

All he knew was that he officially had that metaphorical stamp on his back from a popular kid, saying he was in the _‘Off-limits’_ section for bullies. He was safe.

Thanks to Rick, he was safe, but... now he was down to zero ally’s again. He was alone.

Rick hated him and didn’t want to talk to him anymore, even though he was pretty much the only thing keeping Morty out of harms way. What kind of message was that even supposed to send?

Maybe Morty’d never know, but he knew now he was really alone.

 

 

 

* * *

 

Morty had stayed in the bathroom, locked inside the stall until the bell rang for his next class. He quickly cleaned as much of the mess on his shirt as he could before leaving, but he’d have to wait until he got home before he could change.

Both him and Rick pretended the other didn’t even exist in science class. Morty was simply doing what the other had asked. Part of him wanted to thank Rick, but he knew the blue-haired teen, who still had bloodied knuckles as he worked on the latest science project, didn’t want to talk to him anymore.

Olivia had gotten a haircut, which everyone had fawned over. Morty just ignore it, though. He tried to stay as far away from her as he could, and he tried not to look in her general direction. He didn’t want a repeat of the other day.

And it went ok-ish. She gave him dirty looks occasionally, but that was about it.

Morty finished out going to the rest of his classes, and while he was on the bus headed home, he wondered if he’d have to deal with any more bullies for a while.

 

 

 

* * *

 

Rick was mad at himself. He hadn’t meant what he’d said to Morty, but he’d said it, and he didn’t know if he could tell Morty he didn’t mean it without frustrating the brunette. Morty had been right when he’d said that Rick kept going back and fourth.

Rick didn’t know why he even cared about how Morty felt, to be honest. He figures now that they’re decidedly even, they had no reason to interact. Morty wouldn’t have to deal with bullies, and Rick wouldn’t have to deal with these horribly confusing emotions that kept creeping up his spine.

He’d been kind of surprised when he saw Morty in the cafeteria. He’d been wearing a Queen shirt, looking a tad anxious. Though, he seemed to grow calmer as time when on, and eventually he looked just as bored as the rest of the students were.

But then, as he saw Morty leaving the lunch room, that Frank kid snuck up on him and started dragging him away. And that’s when Rick’s memory got a little blurry. He knows he got super pissed because he _knew_ that Frank was going to most likely beat Morty up.

So, he’d stood from the table without saying anything to anyone, and set out to find them before the _ass_ called Frank could do anything.

His memory completely blacked out once he found Frank holding a _knife_  to Morty’s throat, and then he remembered still feeling rage when he grabbed Morty by the shirt and told him he never wanted to talk to him again.

He’d just been angry. So angry that he’d blacked out, and in his rage he’d associated Morty as the cause of it. He wouldn’t have been angry if he’d never even talked to Morty. He couldn’t be angry if he didn’t _know_ who Morty was. The only reason he was angry was because he knew who Morty was, and some weird-ass part of him didn’t want to see him hurt.

So, he’d decided, in that spare moment, that he didn’t want to ever talk to him again. He felt weak because of Morty.

But, after he’d cooled down, he realized how stupid he’d been. Rick actually thought Morty was a nice person to be around. It’s not every day that someone’s actually willing to jump off a roof with you, and isn’t completely terrified of him. Morty definitely seemed to be intimidated by Rick, but he was real with him. He was honest.

No one was ever real and honest with Rick. They always either held their tongues around him, afraid to offend him, or they just continuously tried to impress him, which made them act like someone they aren’t.

Morty wasn’t like that, though. He never pretended to be a certain way just so Rick would think he was cool. He was just... _himself_. He didn’t really care about what Rick thought of him as long as he wasn’t trying to beat him up. Rick guessed that’s what made him so interested in the loner brunette.

But, he didn’t know how to take back what he’d said, or even if he _should_. He was probably only burdening the other teen at this point. He needed to back off. He couldn’t ruin someone so... _real_. He’d destroy him if he kept jumping into his life and fucking things up.

So, Rick kept his distance. And Morty did, too, just as Rick had told him to.

Rick watched the days pass by. Morty wasn’t getting beat up anymore, and he didn’t seem to be getting verbally bullied, either. Rick made sure of that. He’d threatened both Frank and Brad to make sure they backed off, and they did, thankfully.

He didn’t know for sure, but Morty seemed to be doing better because of it, too. He could see him smiling when he worked in science class. He wasn’t talking to anyone— hardly even talking to Olivia, his very own lab partner. But he smiled anyway, looking fascinated by some of the science experiments they had to do.

Morty likes science.

That realization invaded Rick’s mind spontaneously one day. It made Rick wish he could show Morty some of the stuff in his garage, back at home. He wished he could share things and be real with the only other person who’d been real with him in a long time.

But he couldn’t. He kept his distance.

Morty even started to eat in the cafeteria, sitting in a back corner alone. Rick had never seen someone both so alone but so content before. It’s like he was just happy to be all alone.

Rick didn’t quite understand it. He felt lonely most of the time himself, even when he was surrounded by friends. Yet, Morty was just... he didn’t _look_ lonely, even when he was _alone_. Maybe he’d been hurt by others so many times that all he needed was himself at this point. Or maybe he just knew how to look happy, even when he wasn’t.

“You’re staring again, Sanchez.” Sam, who was nicknamed Squanchy, said one day, and Rick cringed because, yes, he had been staring at the brunette from across the cafeteria. Squanchy was really short, he was a full on ginger with a head of orange hair and freckles on his face. He always wore a grey-ish beanie on his head, and he got high whenever he could.

Rick turned to his friend and frowned. “I wasn’t staring.” He said, denying it even though he knew it was true.

Squanchy and Brandon, who was nicknamed Bird, were his best friends. He guessed that while, yes, they were real with him from time to time, they weren’t always real. They were real with him when it was needed, but not when it was wanted.

There was a big difference between being needed and wanted. Sometimes when you need something, you don’t necessarily _want_ it. And when you want something, it doesn’t mean you necessarily need it. But, sometimes it would be a little nice to be real, even when he didn’t need it that much at the time.

“Rick,” Bird said in his calm voice. He was always calm, and most would say he was hard to read, but Rick and Squanchy had known him long enough to be able to read him like a children’s book. “Why don’t you just speak with him? I am sure he will not reject your presence.”

Bird’s English was a little choppy, but it was just the way he was, and Rick was cool with that.

Bird was super tall, had light brown hair, and a big nose. He always wore a feathered necklace around his neck— he’d gotten it from his mother before she’d died.

Rick snorted, glancing at Morty once again before turning back to his friends. “Why the fuck would I want to talk to him?”

Squanchy and Bird gave each other a knowing look. It’s almost like they were secretly conspiring about something telepathically that Rick didn’t know about.

“ _What?”_ He growled, narrowing his eyes at the two of them.

“Dude, what happened between you two?” Squanchy asked, narrowing his eyes back at him just as suspiciously as Rick’s were angry. “It’s pretty obvious that you’re thinkin’ about him ninety percent of the fuckin’ time. You can’t be that obvious and _not_ expect us to notice.”

Rick shifted uncomfortably under their gazes. “ _Nothing_ alright? Nothing happen. I just stopped Frank form beating him up. That’s all.”

“Rick, what we want to know is why you did that.” Bird said, as calm as ever. But Rick and Squanchy could tell he was a little frustrated. “Usually you don’t care about such things.”

Rick groaned, leaning back in his chair. These two are so annoying sometimes. “I don’t _know,_ okay? I just... I saw it happening to him, just like how I saw everything else bad happening to him, and it was the last straw.”

Squanchy leaned over to Bird and whispered something in his ear that Rick couldn’t hear. When the ginger pulled away, Bird nodded at him, agreeing with whatever he’d said.

Rick growled, standing up from the table. “If you guys are gonna be dicks, I’ll sit somewhere else for the day.” He spat.

“Rick.” Bird said sternly. “We are trying to help you.”

“No you’re not, Bird!” Rick rolled his eyes. “You guys are just being dicks— thinking too much about what I’m doing twenty-four-seven, and keeping secrets. Fuck off.”

As Rick walked away, Squanchy and Bird watched him until he was out of sight.

They looked at each other with that same knowing look. They both knew something that Rick didn’t know, and they hoped that soon Rick would realize what that thing is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank youuu for reading! Once again, sorry for the delay! Hope this chapter didn’t disappoint. I PROMISE Rick x Morty stuff is happening VERY SOON. Like, the next chapter soon. It’s still gonna move slowly, though. Slow burns are both the best and the worst.
> 
> Oh! And I apologize if this chapter’s kinda short...


	8. Kick-Ass

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Halloween party! WHOO!! And other stuff happens, too. Just read. Summaries are spoilers anyway lol.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jesus, this chapter is like super long. I hope you guys are happy lol. And I hope I didn’t make it too long. The last chapter was kind of short, so I guess it kind of works out? Hope you guys enjoy!

A whole month had gone by without incident, and Morty couldn’t have been more pleased by it. He didn’t have to deal with anyone belittling him, or beating him up. He was left to just roll with the metaphorical punches, rather than the literal ones.

He wasn’t particularly happy— he was kind of lonely, after all. But he was collected and content. He was getting good grades, and he seemed to finally be moving forward. No one mentioned the Jessica thing from last year, nor the Rick thing from this year.

One of the janitors, Ms. Suzy, helped him clean the permanent marker off of his locker, too, so he’d solved that issue. And Summer was starting to talk to him more. She didn’t seem to be as angry, and she’d even apologized to him for being so mean about it.

She told him she was conflicted about how she felt about him doing that. For one thing, she was fully convinced that it had forever ruined her chances with Rick. But she knew Morty did it because he was trying to be nice. So she apologized and started talking to him again. Morty forgave Summer for getting mad at him.

Things, while small, were looking up for Morty.

That was _until_ Fall break had officially started and Summer told him she was throwing a Halloween party while their mom was on a business trip and their dad was doing an interview in the next state over. (Not that he’d actually get the job...)

Morty tried to convince her not to throw a party, but she completely rejected the idea of wasting their freedom while their parents weren’t there. So, it was settled. They were going to throw a Halloween party, and Summer wanted him to participate this time, for whatever reason.

She’d said, _“Morty, you don’t even **know** if you like parties! You’ve never participated in the ones I throw! You should try it at least once. C’mon, it’ll be fun!”_

Summer had nagged and nagged until Morty agreed under the condition that he could wear a costume. Summer said that she was already planning to make everyone wear costumes, so... it kind of worked out for him.

When Summer dragged him along to the mall to go costume shopping, he picked out something that would completely conceal his identity. The Grim Reaper was what he chose to be.

It was a full-body robe, with a strips of fabric hanging off of it, and a skeleton mask. Summer also made him get a scythe that was covered in artificial blood to complete the look (Morty wasn’t planning to actually used it during the party, though. It was too much of a hassle to carry around). When Morty looked in the mirror, he couldn’t see himself, so he deemed it good enough.

Summer picked out a vampire costume after going through at least fifty different versions of it to find just the right one. She ended up getting one that had a long black dress with designs stitched into it with red threading. Of course, it had the overly-large collar, and long sleeves with puffed out cuffs. The back of the dress was tied up with a red ribbon, much like a shoe-lace.

Summer talked on and on about how she was going to do her makeup and how she was planning to put her hair up. Morty zoned out from time to time, but he tried to pay attention to what she was saying.

Sometimes, he focused so much on paying attention that he stopped paying attention altogether because of how hard he was thinking about trying to pay attention. The irony of the situation nearly made him laugh, but he restrained himself. He was just lucky to have gotten just the right amount of information to be able to respond to whatever Summer was saying to him.

The both of them then went around the mall searching for Halloween decorations and candy. Fortunately, ‘tis the season of ghosts, ghouls, pumpkin carving, and trick-or-treating, so there was an over-abundance of the stuff everywhere.

When they got home, Morty took his costume and set it to the side for the party in two days, and got out a sheet of blank printer paper.

He grabbed a red sharpie, and carefully wrote something out, and then taped it to the front of his door with some blue duct-tape.

He stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the sign with curiosity. He really hoped it would work.

On the paper, he’d written out, ** _‘OFF LIMITS. DO NOT ENTER.’_** In big, attention-grabbing words. It probably wouldn’t work, but Summer wasn’t going to let him defend his room this time— she was gonna force him to participate.

Morty sighed to himself, running a hand through his soft brown curls as he contemplated the probable things that could happen during the party.

For one thing, people are probably going to fuck in his bed, completely disregarding the sign. And another thing, he could get revealed. Someone could take off his mask, or recognize his voice.

Morty made the decision right then and there that he wasn’t going to talk to anyone. He was gonna stay at the edges of the party and pretend he was anywhere but there.

Summer pulled him from his thoughts when she’d screamed up the stairs, telling him he needed to help her set up the decorations.

 

 

* * *

 

The day of the party, they had everything set up. Snacks, drinks, and bowls of candy were set up on the dining room table, decorations all strewn about— fake spiderwebs in very corner. It was perfect.

Summer was already dressed in her costume, this time with the addition of fake teeth and makeup. She had made herself very pale, with dark bags under her eyes with the makeup, and she’d used some fake blood to put on the corner of her mouth. She had her hair up in a perfect bun on top of her head, too, somehow without a single fly-away.

Morty, on the other hand, was wearing his grim reaper robe over his normal clothes, and that was it. He had his mask in his hand, but since the party hadn’t started yet, he didn’t quite have a reason to put it on just yet. “I-If anyone asks, and I mean _anyone,”_ Morty said, setting a bowl of Hawaiian Fruit Punch on the table. “T-tell—tell them I’m not here.” He said.

“Why, though?” Summer asked, looking at Morty curiously. “Are you hiding from someone?”

Morty chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m hiding from _everyone_ Summer.”

“Is that why you always hide up in your room when I throw parties?”

“Mostly, yes.” Morty turned to face her, adjusting the hood of his robe so he could properly see her. “Also, because I don’t want to get into anything. And I don’t want to be picked on for even being here.”

“Morty,” Summer said, rolling her eyes with a small smile on her face. “If anyone picks on you, just let me know, and I’ll kick them out.”

Morty froze, the words playing over in his mind for a moment. “Really? You’d do that?”

Summer looked away. “Rick... told me that you get bullied. He said that specifically _he_ bullied you at some point. I figure that means you get bullied a lot by others, too, right?”

Morty furrowed his brows, slowly nodding. “You don’t even k-know the half of it, Summer...” He turned back to the table, adjusting a few things on it to make it look neater. But he was mostly just using it as a distraction.

“Well, if I can stop it, I will, alright?” Summer sighed. “I also heard about what happened with Frank. Scared the shit out of me, by the way.”

Morty cringed. “Y-you know about that?” He slowly turned to face Summer again.

“Know about Frank threatening you with a knife?” Summer rose a brow. “How could I not know about it? Everyone talks about it.”

Morty cringed with a groaned. “I don’t want people to talk about it. I want them to forget it.”

“Trust me, bro, they will eventually.”

 

 

 

* * *

 

Rick was surprised when he got a text from Summer in a group chat that was made up of over thirty different contacts.

 

_**‘Summer Smith: Everyone in this group chat is invited to my house for a Halloween party this Saturday, starting at 4pm! Make sure you all wear your best Halloween costumes! Everyone also has a free plus-one, so go wild!’** _

 

He was convinced Summer hated him. But, he guessed, he _was_ the most popular guy in the school, and his presence would probably reel in a lot more people if he went.

He shrugged, not seeing the harm in going. Now all he had to do was come up with a costume.

And he _definitely_ wasn’t going because he thought Morty would be there, too.

 

 

* * *

 

More and more people were getting to the party, all of them wearing costumes of all different kinds. Some people were cosplaying, others were wearing really terrifying looking costumes. Some of them just showed up without a costume, not participating in that part of the party. A few of them were desperately improvising a costume by doing things like tying blankets around their necks to look like a superhero cape.

Morty was actually kind of enjoying himself. He had a cup of clean, alcohol-free Hawaiian Fruit Punch in his hand with a straw that he used to slip under his mask and drink. He was standing around the edges of the living room, watching everything go down through the eyes of his mask. It had reflective glass over it, making it so that he was the only one who could see through them. Like a one-way mirror.

Music was blasting from the speakers in the kitchen, and Morty was sure he’d heard whatever song was playing on it, but he couldn’t remember what it was called. He didn’t really like it, to be honest. It was loud, and had inappropriate lyrics. Not that Morty was offended, but he was more into pop and alternative rock music. He wasn’t into heavy metal, or rap music like everyone else in his school seemed to be into.

Morty froze momentarily when he saw Rick walk into the house with his two friends, Sam and Brandon. He was... in a lab coat that was covered in fake blood? And he had a pair of goggles hanging around his neck...? That must be his Halloween costume. He’s probably like an evil scientist, or something. Morty chuckled to himself at the thought.

Morty continued to spectate from a distance, watching teenagers get drunk and dance. Rick actually picked up a random guitar someone else had brought and started playing along with one of the rock songs that came on. He hopped up on the coffee table, and started strumming out the notes with his nimble fingers. He closed his eyes, and he looked so in tune with the music— so peaceful. He looked like he belonged there.

Morty watched him in awe, seeing how his fingers moved so delicately and precisely over the strings. How sweat trailed down the side of his face, how he breathed so slowly Morty almost thought he might be dead. Everyone was just as still as Morty, all watching with equal amounts of awe and fascination. Rick really did have a gift.

When the song was over, and Rick slowly opened his eyes again, everyone cheered, hollering about how amazing he’d been. Morty clapped along, smiling under his mask. He’d always heard about how awesome Rick’s playing was, and he really did sound and look a cool as everyone said he did.

He watched as Rick’s eyes darted around the room, as if he were searching for someone, but he didn’t seem to find them. He hopped off the coffee table with a disappointed look on his face. Maybe he’d asked some girl to come to the party with him on a date and she hadn’t seen him play?

Morty decided to brush it off. He continued walking around the room, refilling his drink in the dining room. When he look a sip through his straw, he gagged at the taste. Someone had spiked it. He dumped the drink out in the kitchen sink before heading back into the living room.

He didn’t know exactly what to do anymore, so he sat down on the end of the couch, which happened to be surprisingly unoccupied. That was unusual to Morty, but he guessed he was lucky it was empty. It meant he got the couch all to himself.

He didn’t know how long he sat, eyes shifting around the room to take everything in, before some other people sat down on the couch. He recognized them as Brandon and Sam. Or, as more commonly known, Bird and Squanchy. Rick’s best friends. They were talking to each other seriously about something, keeping quiet so no one could hear anything.

Squanchy seemed to be... dressed as a cat? God, that was super dorky. He had cat ears on his head, and a fake tail clipped to the back of his pants. Bird, on the other hand, had a feathered cape on, and Morty assumed he was trying to be ironic because of his nickname. Morty snickered to himself quietly before turning his attention back to the other people at the party, watching them all have fun. He didn’t want to invade on Bird and Squanchy’s conversation. It seemed private.

Eventually, Rick showed up as well, and Morty felt a strong sense of uneasiness grow within him as he watched the older teen approach the couch. He looked at Morty, obviously not recognizing him at all under his costume. That was a good thing, right?

“Mind if I sit next to ya?” Rick looked tired, and his hair was more messy than usual. He was holding one of the red solo-cups, and it was most likely filled with a something alcoholic.

Morty scooted to the side, pressing himself closer to the arm of the couch to make room for Rick.

The older teen nodded in thanks and sat down in the space between where Morty was sitting and where Bird and Squanchy were sitting.

“C’mon, guys, I’m tired of you keeping secrets from me.” Rick said, leaning to the side that Squanchy and Bird were sitting. “Let’s just fuckin’ talk, alright?”

“Alright, but you can’t get mad and call us dicks against.” Squanchy frowned, looking pretty annoyed with Rick.

“Yes, we were not trying to offend you, Rick.” Bird said, and Morty was surprised by how monotonous and deep his voice was. He was looking at Rick with a blank expression on his face.

“I won’t if you guys are actually _honest,_ and not so blatantly hiding shit from me. It’s _not_ appreciated in the slightest, by the way.” Rick grumbled, taking a sip from his drink.

Morty was about to get up, feeling like he was invading on a conversation he shouldn’t be hearing. He didn’t want to invade on something that was so obviously private, even though they hadn’t exactly asked him to move or anything.

“Rick...” Squanchy said, sounding kind of hesitant. “We think...” He glanced at Bird, like he was pleading him for help. Bird just shrugged, and looked away. Squanchy sighed. “That you have a crush on Morty. You’re fallin’ for him hard, man.”

Morty froze, all of the muscles in his body going stiff. _What the fuck did he just hear?!_

It was silent between the three friends for a solid five seconds, and Morty stopped _breathing_ almost completely unable to comprehend what had been said. There’s no fucking way Mr. Imsuperpopular Rick Sanchez would ever like Mr. Imsuperlame Morty Smith. _No fucking way._ Rick didn’t like him at all! He didn’t even want to talk to him! Rick’s friends were delusional!

Rick suddenly learned forward towards his friends, grabbing them both by the hem of their shirts. _“What the fuck is wrong with you guys?!”_ He whisper-shouted at them. They were lucky no one else could hear them besides _Morty_ himself. “I don’t—! There’s no way! _No way!_ I’m not _gay,_ what’s wrong with you two?!”

Bird shoved Rick in the chest to get him to back off, and the other did. He brushed his shirt off in a way that could almost be described as in annoyance. “Rick, you may deny it now, but Sam and I can tell that you view him in a different light than you do anyone else.”

Morty stood up very quickly and very suddenly— so much so that the three friends couldn’t help but notice. He almost had to sit back down because he’d stood up so fast. They all looked at him with wide, alarmed eyes. He couldn’t take this conversation anymore. His heart was pounding so hard inside his chest that Morty was getting dizzy with the anxiety. The very thought that Rick liked him in any way other than _‘distant acquaintance’_ made him feel like he was going to faint.

If anyone found out— If people at school started to talk— if they knew Morty was into guys as well as girls, and that he liked someone— _if someone liked him back_ — He’d never show up to school again, because it would only serve as fuel for others to tease, bully, hate, and beat him. And he’d bring Rick down with him. Not intentionally, but his social status would go from the very edges of Earth’s atmosphere, all the way down to the core of the planet. All because of Morty. He’d ruin his life.

“Oh, shit!” Squanchy exclaimed. “I forgot you were right next to us. Don’t spread this around, whoever you are. Not your business anyway, got it?” He looked at Morty threateningly.

Morty shook his head, slowly lifting his hand up to his mask. He felt like they had a right to know that he’d overheard them for some reason. He hesitated before slowly pulling it upwards, revealing his face. He could tell he was bright red, his eyes wide with shock.

Rick’s mouth dropped open in shock and Squanchy eyes widened. Bird coughed unto his arm awkwardly, an uncomfortable look on his face. They’d been basically caught red-handed.

Morty put the mask back on properly. “I-I-I-I’m just going t-t-to forget this day ever happened.” He said, spinning on his heals and escaping the situation through the ocean of swaying teenagers.

“Wait!” Rick called out to him, standing from the couch and quickly catching up with the brunette. He grabbed Morty by the wrist, but the younger teen only yanked his arm away and quickly forced his way through the crowd of drunk teenagers. It was easy to lose Rick because everyone was wearing costumes, and he wasn’t the only one dressed as the Grim Reaper.

He quickly distanced himself, blending in with other people dressed in grim reaper costumes before secretly branching off and finding his way into the dinning room.

With shaky hands, he fumbled to get some more fruit punch, nearly spilling it all over the table in the process. He stuck a straw into the solo-cup, and quickly started drinking the disgusting liquid. He’d never had alcohol before— never even been buzzed, but right now he _really_ wanted to be. Maybe not drunk, but he definitely didn’t want to be completely sober. Besides, it was only one third of a cup, and there was probably more fruit punch in the ratio between that and alcohol.

With the straw still under his mask and in his mouth, he peaked around the doorway and into the living room, where he saw Rick still frantically searching for him, along with Bird and Squanchy. He saw Rick grab ahold of someone who was wearing a very similar costume to him, and he took their mask off. He only looked frustrated when he saw that it wasn’t Morty.

The brunette quickly maneuvered around the room, completely avoiding Rick’s gaze, and he darted up the staircase to his room. He opened the door and entered, a wave of relief washing over him when he noticed that people had actually listened to the sign that was still duct-taped to the door.

Once the door clicked softly behind him, he pulled his mask and the hood off and sat down on his bed. He took the straw out of his drink and instead settled on chugging the rest of it until it was gone.

He gagged several times, but persisted anyway, because _fuck it._ He did _not_ want to think about anything right now. His hands were still shaking from the anxiety.

 

_Did Morty even like Rick in that way?_

 

He guessed, he kind of did. Rick was attractive, and despite all of the shitty things Rick did to him, he’d also been one of the first people to really be nice to him.

But it was wrong. Morty wasn’t even out of the closet, and he’d only hold Rick down. Not that Rick would ever _actually_ like him. His friends were just assuming things. Morty didn’t have a single reason to believe Rick could ever like someone like himself. There’s no way.

And _Summer_ still fucking likes Rick. So he really shouldn’t even be talking to the blue-haired teen.

Morty’s phone buzzed on his bedside table, and he set the now-empty cup down next to it before he grabbed it.

 

_**‘Rick: Oh thank god, you unblocked me! Where’d you go? We really need to talk, man.** _

 

Morty cringed, sliding the notification open and going to the chat.

 

_**Morty: We don’t need to talk. I know you don’t really feel that way, so... it’s whatever. I don’t care.** _

_**Morty: Please just leave me alone.** _

__

_**Rick: where are you Morty?’** _

 

Morty sighed, putting his phone back down on the bedside table and curling in on himself on his bed. His head felt a little fuzzy and his limbs were warm and heavy.

He heard his phone buzz a few more times as he laid there on his bed, but he ignored it. He knew who it was, and he didn’t care. There was no point in responding. He didn’t want to talk to Rick.

He jumped when there was a frantic knock on his door. “Morty...? You in here? I’m coming in.” Ricks voice sounded muffled through the door.

Morty sat up as the door swung open, eyes wide as he saw the frantic blue-haired teen dressed in a lab coat barge into his room. He quickly closed it behind him.

“No!” Morty barked, pointing at Rick accusingly. “Get out! L-l-last time people s-saw you come in— in here— they— they—“

Rick rose his hands in the air to stop him. “Christ, Morty, I-I won’t let that happen again, alright?! Just calm down!”

“I told you I-I don’t wanna talk, alright?” Morty said, grabbing his blanket and pulling it over his head so he could hide himself. He didn’t want to be anywhere near Rick at the moment. “Y-y-you— _we_ don’t have to. S-Sam and Brandon don’t know what they’re talking about. Someone like you could never like someone like me...” He curled into himself and faced the wall. “Y-you don’t even like me in general, like, as a f-friend, or even just an acquaintance. You don’t have to justify yourself for what your friends say. If anyone knows not to judge someone by what others say about them, it’s me. So please, just _leave.”_

“But, Morty I—“

“Rick.” Morty cut him off, pulling the blanket off of his head and turning to face him. He held Rick’s gaze. “I-I never believed what they said. _Really,_ I didn’t. It was just... I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s all it was. That’s how it was last time, too. I should have never even heard what you said to those three girls. Maybe w-we wouldn’t be in this mess if I hadn’t heard...”

Rick sighed heavily, crossing his arms. “Are you going to let me talk? At all?” He asked with a frown on his face.

Morty didn’t respond. He didn’t know _how_ to respond. He’d already asked Rick to leave him alone numerous times, but he just couldn’t seem to get the message across. Rick was just too stubborn.

Rick took Morty’s silence as conformation that he could talk. “Morty, don’t take this the wrong way, but I have no fuckin’ idea how I feel about you.”

Morty sat up, looking extremely confused. “What does that even _mean?_ ”

Rick looked flustered all of a sudden. “I don’t know! I-I-I just— _how_ am I even _supposed_ to feel about you?!” He gestured to the brunette exaggeratedly. “I want to just feel indifferent, but for some reason I can’t even fucking do _that!”_

“So...” Morty cleared his throat anxiously, not really sure how he was supposed handle the information Rick was giving him. “You’re not even sure if you like m-me? L-like, you’re not even sure if you like dudes o-or not?”

“ _Fuck,_ this is so fucked, Morty,” Rick ran his hands through his hair, pulling at the strands harshly. He was so distressed. “I’m s-so _confused.”_

Morty really didn’t know what to say now. Rick was acting extremely vulnerable; it wasn’t like him at all. It was so weird to see him like this. He had to at least try to help him, though, right? He couldn’t just... let him suffer. “U-um...” Morty coughed awkwardly into his arm. “H-have you ever... found yourself... um...” He bit his lip, hesitating.

Was that even the right advice to give him? He didn’t even know, but he had to try. “Have y-you ever been attracted to another guy before? L-like, you felt something for a guy that you’d usually only feel for a girl...”

Rick looked at him with wide, confused eyes, and Morty went bright red from the embarrassment. He had no fucking clue what he was doing. “M-m-maybe it, um, would help you figure things out if you could answer that question for yourself...?” That’s how Morty had determined his own sexuality; he’d realized he was attracted to a few of the boys at school. Though, he’d never dared to talk to them.

He nervously started playing with one of the strips of fabric hanging off of his costume. He wasn’t even out of the goddamn closet and he was _literally_ giving someone a LGBTQ pep-talk. What the fuck was even happening?? “A-and even if you _do_ perhaps l-like guys, I doubt you like me that way.” No one could ever like him that way. He was sure he was destined to not only forever be a virgin, but also destined to never date anyone. “S-so, you can cross that part of your confusion off the list...” He forced a small chuckle.

Rick seemed to sway on his feet for a moment in contemplation before he took a few short steps towards the bed and slowly sat down on it. Morty moved around to make room for him, and he kept his distance, even when Rick scooted just a little closer each time he scooted away.

“Morty,” Rick said slowly, looking deep into his eyes with unwavering determination. “C-can I... try something...?”

Morty leaned away slightly. “Um, that... t-that kind of depends on what that _‘thing’_ is, Rick...” He swallowed nervously.

“J-just... please?” Rick scooted just a little closer, getting into Morty’s personal space. He placed his hand over Morty’s, and the brunette’s eyes darted down and locked on the sight of it. “I just... I have to _see._ I have to figure this out.”

Morty slowly looked back up at Rick. He had no idea what the fuck was even happening right now. He was sure at this point that he was even more confused than Rick was. “Uh, I-I-I, um—“ He was almost choking on his words from the anxiety and nervousness. He’d never been this physically close to anyone in this way. “O-okay...” He whispered, nodding slowly.

“Close your eyes.” Rick instructed, and Morty did. He felt stupid for trusting Rick, but he did in this moment. He trusted him enough to close his eyes.

He waited. He could still feel Rick’s hand on his own, and that was the only indication that told him Rick wasn’t making a joke out of this— that told him he hadn’t left him alone yet.

He could feel the bed shift and sink as Rick leaned closer, and pretty soon he was so close that Morty could even sense his body heat. Rick stayed like that for a short while, his breath dusting over Morty’s face. It smelled like the fruit punch.

And then Morty felt Rick press his lips to his, and he squeaked in surprise. His whole body grew tense.

Morty didn’t know what to do. _What was he supposed to do?!_ He’s never kissed anyone before! What was even happening?! He didn’t know if Rick Sanchez _kissing_ him was a dream come true or his worst nightmare, but it was fucking happening! He would have never expected his first kiss to be with someone like Rick!  _What was he supposed to do?!_

After a moment of panicked contemplation, he started to reciprocate the kiss shyly. Rick was experienced in his actions, and even though Morty had never kissed anyone, _he could tell._ Rick was kissing him like he’d done it a billion times before, and Morty didn’t know how to keep up with it.

His stomach was buzzing with metaphorical butterflies, and his heart was pounding hard inside his chest. He felt a mixture of fear and pleasure, and he didn’t know what the hell he was supposed to do with it. His hands fumbled to grab ahold of the lab coat Rick was wearing, as if somehow it could anchor him to reality— anchor him to his own _sanity_.

Rick’s hands rose expertly up Morty’s arms, one staying on his shoulder, and the other to the back of Morty neck so he could pull him forward and deepen the kiss. Both of them moved closer to each other, needing more— needing to be physically closer so they could get as much of the other as they could.

Morty couldn’t believe how good a simple kiss was making him feel, but almost as soon as he started to relax into it, his anxiety came barreling back.

What about Summer? What about everyone at school? He’d ruin everything for Rick, and then he’d be out of the closet. Once you’re out, there’s no going back.

_No going back._ He wasn’t ready, he wasn’t _ready!_

Morty grabbed Ricks shoulders and pushed him back, both teens gasping quietly for air. Morty could feel his own face burning, and it only seemed to get worse when he saw the look on Rick’s face— filled with desire and need. But moments after the kiss, the look faded.

Rick still had his arms around Morty’s neck, and Morty still had his hands firmly planted on Rick’s shoulders in order to keep them as separated as possible at the moment.

“R-Rick—“ Morty cringed at how high his voice sounded at the moment. “I-I, uh, _oh geez,”_ He panted, still kind of winded from the kiss. He almost couldn’t believe it had even happened. “That just— you just— that j-just happened.”

Rick suddenly looked like he didn’t really know what to do with himself, a look of disappointment and embarrassment on his face. “Uh, y-yeah, sorry ‘bout that...” He said, pulling away from Morty and scooting back.

Morty fidgeted with his hands, not really knowing what to do, now that Rick wasn’t so close to him. He... regretted pushing him back, but there was nothing he could do about it now. “So... s-so, uh, so... did you find what you were looking for...?” He asked quietly. He looked down at his lap. That kiss didn’t mean anything, right? Or did it? Rick could never... never like him that way...

Rick didn’t respond at first. He just leaned back against the wall and stared across the room with a troubled look on his face. He was still bright red from the kiss, though, so it made the look seem off-putting.

Eventually, he sighed. “I-I’m not sure...”

For some reason, that response made Morty feel super embarrassed and super self-conscious. He turned his head towards wall, if only so he didn’t have to look in Rick’s direction. Maybe he’s not good at kissing, or something. Or maybe Rick just doesn’t like him that way, which... actually wouldn’t surprise him.

“A-are you...” Rick trailed off for a moment, not sure how to word things. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Morty, are you... straight? Or no?”

Morty crossed his arms over his chest self-consciously, still keeping his focus on the wall. He did _not_ want to answer that question. Hadn’t he already decided he was never going to come out?

_Does kissing a guy back count as coming out?_

Morty hesitated. “A-are you sure you even _want_ to know the answer to that question?”

“Yes, M-Morty.” Rick said, his head thunking back against the wall, fluttering the bikini babe poster Morty had taped to the wall years ago. “I want to know.”

Morty slumped down, anxiety grabbing ahold of him. “Well, t-then...” He froze, squeezing his eyes shut. “I-I guess I don’t really wanna tell you, but n-now I have to...” He took in a deep breath. “I’m—I’m, uh, I’m... into both girls and g-g-guys...” He’s never said that out loud before, and it felt so weird on his tongue. “So, I’m bisexual... I guess...”

“Do... you like anyone?”

Morty sunk down even further, frowning. Of course, some part of him wanted to expand his relationship with Rick. But another part wanted to avoid him. He didn’t feel... like he could fully trust Rick. And sure, maybe there was a small, budding crush that was slowly growing on him, and it had been fueled significantly by the kiss they’d just shared, but he didn’t want to set himself up for disappointment, so he tried not to let it fester.

Any other person would probably be all over Rick at this point, but not Morty. It was a small, longing thought that maybe sorta popped up in his mind from time to time, but he never wanted it to grow. He didn’t want to walk into something like that when he already knew he was going to walk back out heartbroken.

And there was also Summer. She still had a crush on Rick, and she’d never talk to him again if she found out about what had happened between them. She’d hate him. He’d lose her. He’d already pretty much betrayed her by participating in the kiss. He could never be with Rick, even if, by some crazy chance, Rick actually _did_ like him.

Morty finally formed a response inside his head. “I’d rather not share t-t-t-that with you, Rick.” He said miserably.

“Why not?” Rick asked in response.

Morty finally turned to look at Rick again, who was laying with his head back against the wall. He was staring up at the ceiling with an unfocused gaze in his eyes.

“B-because...” Morty said, sighing defeatedly. “In the end, it won’t be worth it. I-I-I wouldn’t get with them, even if they asked me, which is very unlikely anyway. Being with them would only hurt the people around me...” That both included Summer _and_ Rick. “It w-wouldn’t be worth if I-I-If I’m only going to make them hurt...”

Hypothetically, if they actually did start spontaneously dating, Rick would quite literally be committing social suicide.

Morty could picture it in his head— The ugly, disgusted looks. The disappointment. The jealousy all the people who crush on Rick would have.

Rick would no longer be on top, and it would be all Morty’s fault. He couldn’t take that away from Rick— couldn’t subject him to such misery. And he couldn’t do that to his sister, either.

Rick sat stewing in his thoughts for a while before he turned his head to the side to look at Morty, who was looking rather glum. “Do y-you remember... how at the last party I said you were going to have fun at the next one?” He said out of the blue. “And that if you said no, I wouldn’t take that for an answer?” He seemed to have gotten the answers he needed from Morty for the time being and was moving on.

“Um.” Morty thought back to that night, pulling the memory to the forefront of his mind when Rick had, in fact, said something almost exactly like that. “Uh, y-yeah... I remember that...” He nodded. “But I’m not going back out there.” He looked back over towards the door nervously, where outside a bunch of teenagers from his school were partying and making a huge mess of things.

Rick smirked at him, looking like he was cooking up an evil plan inside his head. “I said I wouldn’t take no for an answer.” He grabbed Morty’s wrist and tugged him up out of the bed with him. Morty felt so weak because of how impossible it was to _not_ follow Rick. He literally dragged him out of his bed.

He stumbled clumsily onto his feet. “I-I-I’m not going back out there, Rick.” Morty said again, frowning at the older teen.

“Too bad y-y-you’re stuck with me, ‘cause I’m going out there, and you’re coming with.” Rick shrugged and started pulling him towards the door. “It’ll be fun, Morty! You’ll see.”

“W-wait!” Morty dug the heals of his shoes into the ground, trying to get Rick to stop. “If—if you’re really gonna make me do this, at least let me put my mask on.”

Rick turned back to him, raising a brow. “Morty, you do know no one’ll bother you if you’re with me, right?” He was still holding on to Morty’s wrist in a tight grip with no signs of letting go anytime soon.

Morty glanced back at his bed before looking at the door. He didn’t want to do this. He’d participated in the party, and he’d had a small bit of alcohol. As far as he was concerned, he’s officially been at a party before, just like what Summer wanted. He even got to see Rick play guitar earlier... and kiss him...

But Rick was looking at him patiently, longingly— like he really hoped Morty would follow him out there. And Morty felt like a fucking idiot for it, but he sighed, and said, “Okay, let’s go...”

How many times was he going to let Rick hurt him? That was the question he asked himself in this very moment. Every time he trusted Rick, it started fine, but it was quickly broken right after. He guessed, at this point, that Rick had him wrapped around his finger and it was probably gonna take him a while to learn his lesson.

Maybe... he needed to learn this lesson the hard way. So that’s what was going to happen. He was gonna walk out that door with Rick, and he was gonna have some fun before everything fell apart. You never know, maybe it’ll be worth it. Just maybe.

Rick’s smile widened, and Morty felt happy that Rick was happy. The older teen lead him to the door.

As he pulled it open someone nearly collapsed on him and he had to let go of Morty’s wrist to catch them.

Morty’s eyes widened, because it was both Sam and Brandon who were standing there. Sam was the one who had fallen. He must have been leaning against the door, or maybe pressing his ear to it, trying to eavesdrop. Morty looked down at the ground, flustered that someone else might’ve heard what had happened between them.

Rick frowned, pushing Squanchy back onto his feet. “What the fuck are you guys doing?”

Bird sighed. “I told Squanchy that this would be a horrible idea, but he did not listen to me.”

Rick glared down at Squanchy.

_“What?”_ The short ginger groaned, crossing his arms defiantly and glaring right back up at Rick. “I was curious!”

“What did you hear?” Rick demanded.

Squanchy scoffed and rolled his eyes. “The music was too fuckin’ loud to hear anything, but I tried.”

Rick had disbelief written all over his face. He looked up at Bird questioningly.

Bird nodded in confirmation. “He is telling the truth. He kept complaining about it.” He said, and then turned to Morty, who was standing anxiously next to Rick. “Hello, Morty, I am Brandon, but you may call me Bird.” He held out his hand.

Morty stared at his hand for a moment before reaching out to shake it. “I-It’s nice, uh, to meet you, Bird.”

The second Bird let go of Morty’s hand, Squanchy reached forward and grabbed ahold of Morty’s hand, shaking it excitedly. “And _I’m_ Squanchy! Are you and Rick dating now?!”

Rick face-palmed with a groan and Morty flushed bright red. “Um—um—“

“No, Sam, we aren’t dating, you idiot!” Rick cut in for him, as if knowing Morty was too panicked to give a straight answer. He grabbed Squanchy’s arm and pulled it away from Morty. The brunette was secretly grateful for it.

“ _Ooh~,_ so protective, Rick. What were you two doing in there, huh?” Squanchy teased, winking at Morty and elbowing Rick playfully. “‘Cause I doubt the only thing you guys did was talk.”

Rick crossed his arms, his frown deepening considerably. Morty couldn’t help but notice how patient and tolerant Rick was with the ginger-haired teen. They must really be close. “Nothing happened, Squanchy.”

Morty felt relived that Rick wasn’t saying anything about the kiss. If he had, Morty was sure he would have fainted.

“What? Not even a quick smooch? Or a too-long-to-be-just-‘friends’-hug?” He pressed teasingly.

“Does he share the same affections that you do?” Bird asked, and Rick shot him a glare.

Morty averted his gaze. They ask so many questions that he wasn’t prepared to even answer— Question he didn’t _want_ to answer right now. He shifted on his feet uncomfortably. He guessed he was almost just as confused as Rick was.

“I already told you guys! It’s not like that!” Rick snapped at them. “Get off my fuckin’ back, guys. I came here to party, not to be interrogated by my friends.”

“Hello you four!” A new voice suddenly chimed from the stairway. Morty turned to look and he saw Summer standing on the top step. “Brandon, Sam...” She nodded towards them, and then she slowly turned to Rick and frowned. “ _Rick.”_ They both glared at each other for a moment.

She then glanced at Morty, giving him a confused look before continuing to speak. “How are you guys enjoying the party?”

“Quite fine, thank you.” Bird smiled kindly at her.

“Hell yeah, this party rocks!” Squanchy said with a big smile on his face. “Thanks for throwin’ it, Summer!”

Summer looked at him for a moment in thought before she turned to Morty, and Sam’s smile quickly faded into a frown at the rude rejection. “Can I speak with you for a moment, Morty?” She asked, placing her hands on her hips. “In _private.”_  She glanced at the other three boys with narrowed eyes.

Oh, boy. Morty was not looking forward to this at all. He glanced at Rick almost pleadingly, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. He cleared his throat anxiously before responding. “Uh, s-sure?”

“Great.” She said, and then grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him back into his own room. The last thing he saw before the door closed was Rick frowning at Summer with a super pissed off look on his face.

Morty turned around to face Summer once the door was closed, giving her a questioning look. He shoved his hands into the convenient yet camouflaged pockets of his costume.

“What are you doing hanging out with _him?”_  Summer asked demandingly, crossing her arms over her chest, a deep frown on her face.

Morty scratched the back of his head, not really sure how he was supposed to answer that question. “Um... w-would it make you feel better if I said that h-he’s the one who walked up to me f-first...? Because... that’s a-actually how it usually happens... most of the time it’s kind of an accident, too...”

He didn’t really know if this time was considered an accident or not. It was just weird circumstances. Again.

Summer rolled her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I don’t want you hanging out with him anymore, Morty. I won’t allow it.”

“Excuse me? _What?”_ The words came tumbling from his mouth before he even thought to say them. Usually, he could contain his anger when it was needed, but for some reason it really felt like Summer was crossing the line with this one.

Logically, he understood _why_ Summer would say that. He understood completely. Morty had fucked up Summer’s relationship with Rick. But she was literally telling him he couldn’t talk to the one person who had shown him any sort of kindness, even if he’d also hurt him in multiple ways.

Not only that, but it was more fitting to say that _Rick_ was the one who chose to hang out with _Morty._ The brunette couldn’t remember one interaction between them that started with Morty making the first move. It was so unfair of her to tell him he couldn’t talk to the one person who actually made any effort to talk to him. He didn’t have any control over whether or not Rick talked to him, and quite frankly, he didn’t want to tell him to stop.

“What do you mean, _‘what?’”_ Summer narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re not going to hang out with him anymore!”

“You can’t just tell me who I can and can’t hang out with, Summer!” Morty rose his voice, and Summer looked so shocked. Morty never really raised his voice at Summer. He usually just let her win every argument, because she always made him feel like shit.

“Yes I can!” She rose her voice back at him. “I’m your big sister! You have to listen to me!”

Morty balled his hands into fists, glaring at Summer. “Y-yeah, well some big sister _you_ are.” He spat, frustrated tears forming in his eyes. He felt so pathetic. Couldn’t even argue with her without crying. “All you do is make me feel like _shit,_  and all I do is try to make you happy! So _fuck you,_ Summer.”

Summer gaped like a fish for a moment, completely shocked by her brother’s words. “What’s your major malfunction, Morty?” She scolded. “You’re acting like an ass!”

_“Me?”_  Morty gestured to himself exaggeratedly. “ _I_ have the major malfunction? You’re the one who’s acting like a bitch!”

“You take that back right now!” Summer growled, her face glowing red from the anger.

“No! I-I-I’ve had enough of your bullshit, Summer! I-I’m not going to live my fucking life by _your_ rules!” Morty couldn’t help but notice how his hands were shaking, and how it was getting kind of hard to breathe. But that didn’t stop the words from flowing. “My life is a piece of shit, Summer!” He threw his hands up in the air, tears beginning to flow down his face. “You’ve never even noticed, and if you did, you never said anything! And I bet you _did_ fucking notice, too, because I practically come home from school with black eyes and bruises every other day! You just left me to suffer! Why should I let someone who doesn’t even care about me control my fucking life?!”

Morty was used to people not caring about him. He was used to _Summer_ not caring. He was even used to bending to her every will, because he loved her unconditionally, and he was used to hurting himself to make her happy.

But he just couldn’t take it anymore. People can only give so much before they run themselves dry, and Morty felt like he was almost empty.

“Oh, _please,_ your life does not _suck.”_  Summer rolled her eyes. “You get bullied. News flash! So does everyone else!” She said it like it was some big fucking reveal that other people get bullied, too. As if Morty didn’t know that already.

Morty averted his eyes. She could never understand. _Never._ Summer had never been lonely like he’d been. She didn’t wake up each morning wondering if her life was even worth living. She didn’t get beat up every. Single. Day. She didn’t sit alone each lunch, or wander aimlessly through the school, not knowing where to go because she didn’t have friends.

She didn’t get made fun of because she asked someone out, and called a pervert because of it. She didn’t have eyes constantly judging her, nitpicking each minuscule movement so they could somehow use it against her. She didn’t have panic attacks, or hate herself like Morty did.

She didn’t dread the rest of the day from the very second she opened her fucking eyes, hating her life and wishing that she was someone else— wishing that she was never born.

She could _never_ understand how worthless Morty felt sometimes. How lonely he felt almost constantly.

He was lonely because people were nightmares. Because when he was with others, he suffered, and he could only feel safe when he was alone, even though being alone made him crave the connections everyone else had with other people.

And Morty felt... _empty._ Summer, simply because she was his _sister,_ she unfortunately happened to the closest person to him. Without her simply existing in his life, Morty would be nothing. But Summer made him feel like nothing right now, even though she was here. And Morty didn’t want to deal with it.

He wasn’t saying Summer’s life was perfect, either. She definitely had her own struggles, too. School drama, friends that stab you in the back, boyfriends that end up being dicks, hidden under a persona that made them seem nice at first. She even shared Morty’s struggle of hardly seeing their parents— of them constantly arguing with each other.

But at least she had people to help her through it.

Morty has seen his sister in her most broken states— heartbroken and depressed. He’d seen her cry over friends that she’d loved, who only ended up betraying her in the end. He’d see her with her mascara running down her cheeks as she sobbed on the couch, too sad to even text or call her friends for comfort.

Morty himself had even help her through a lot of those things.

Morty, who’s eye was swollen shut— who’s ribs were bruised, and who’s nose was bloodied from a beating he’d received from Frank near the end of the day, had been there for her when her previous boyfriend, Ethan, had dumped her. Morty, who’s birthday the previous week had been completely forgotten about, his only gift being a card his grandma had sent him with twenty dollars inside, bought her a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream, and sat on the couch eating it with her as they bing-watched at TV show called _Steven Universe._

Morty, who felt so broken, empty, and lonely inside, with scars from beatings and scars on his soul, had listened to his big sister vent to him countless times about things that had happened to her. And he listened with all his focus, not interrupting, not changing the subject, or trying to get away, even when she once talked to him for three hours straight without stopping. He let her sob into his shoulder when she really needed it.

He’s _always_ been there.

But when was Summer ever there for him?

Morty was getting tired. He was used up, broken, empty, lonely.

And Summer was only making it worse— only taking more from him, even though he’d already given everything to her.

He was done.

“I’m not even going to try to get you to understand, Summer.” Morty said sternly, wiping away the few tears that had managed to flow down his cheeks. “And whether or not Rick and I talk is none of your business, starting _now._ Nothing I do is your business, and it never will be again.” He didn’t even realize that his stutter was entirely absent at the moment.

Summers mouth was open in shock. She was frozen, unable to come up with anything to say back.

Finished with the conversation, Morty spun on his heals and threw his door open. Rick and his friends were leaning against the opposite wall, talking quietly amongst themselves. When he walked out of his room, he saw Rick start to approach him. Morty ignored him, too mad to even want to talk to anyone, and started walking down the stares. He didn’t even care that he didn’t have his mask on at this point. His life already sucks. Not like it can suck any more.

Summer walked out after him, watching her brother’s retreating form as he marched down the stairs. She then turned to Rick and walked up to him. He didn’t even acknowledge her; his eyes were on Morty, and his brows were creased worryingly.

To get his attention, she snapped her fingers in his face rudely. Rick blinked and turned to look at her. He frowned. “What the fuck did you do to him?” He growled.

“None of your business, Rick.” Summer narrowed her eyes. “Just know that he never wants to talk to you again. He doesn’t like you. He said you make him uncomfortable.”

Rick didn’t believe her for a second. He scoffed. “You’re a lying whore, Summer.” He said. How could Summer be that low? She must be one hell of a bitch to medal with her brother’s life this badly. “He doesn’t hate me.”

“ _Whoa_ , Rick, dial it back a little!” Squanchy scolded, tugging on the blue-haired teens arm. “There’s no need for that! Let’s just leave, alright? We’ve overused our welcome, obviously.”

“I agree with Squanchy.” Bird jumped in, placing a hand on Rick’s shoulder to start tugging him away. “Let us go retrieve Morty and take our business elsewhere, yes?”

“Excuse me? You’re not taking my brother anywhere. And I wasn’t lying.” She glared at all of them hatefully. She had her hands on her hips.

“You can’t stop him if he actually wants to go with us.” Rick growled, shrugging both Squanchy and Bird off of him harshly and stepping into Summers personal space. “You don’t own him, _Summer.”_

Summer suddenly looked like she didn’t know what to do. She looked nervous.

Rick always knew how to make people nervous and uncomfortable. It was how he kept control. It was both a blessing and a curse. He pushed Summer away from him by the shoulder and walked past her, Squanchy and Bird following after him.

He marched down the stairs, his eyes alert as he searched for Morty. It wasn’t hard to find him. All he saw was a mop of curly brown hair disappearing through the doorway towards he dining room, and he knew it was him. He quickened his pace to catch up with him.

When he reached him, he saw the brunette chugging down some of the spiked punch. And when he was done with that one, he dipped his cup in the bowl to get more and started chugging that one, too.

Rick grabbed his arm and pulled it away from his face and Morty spilled some of his drink on the floor, and some of it got all over his mouth and chin. “W-what the fuck, man?” Morty glared at him, sputtering a little.

“Morty, what the hell are you doing?” Rick asked, trying to take the cup from him. Morty pulled it out of his reach.

“What does it look like him doing?” Morty growled. “I’m getting drunk.” He drained the rest of his cup and then got another one.

Rick just stared at him for moment as Morty drained his /third/ cup. Even Rick knew that was just a little too much. “Morty, trust me when I say you really don’t want to drink that much.”

“F-fuck you, Rick, I just— let me do this, alright?” Morty rolled his eyes, getting himself another cup. “Not like anyone cares anyway...” He muttered.

Rick growled, snatching the cup away from him. Morty lunged to get it back, but Rick held it over his head so Morty couldn’t reach it. “Give it back!” Morty demanded, trying to jump up and grab it. It was at moments like these that Morty really hated his own hight.

“Morty, you just downed three f-fucking cups of this shit! When it kicks in, you’re going to be super fucking w-wasted!” Rick said, evading Morty’s attempts to get his drink back. “You don’t need anymore.”

“Have y-you considered that m-m-maybe getting super fucking wasted is the point?!” Morty huffed. He gave up on trying to reach his cup and instead reached for one of the other solo cups stacked up next to the punch bowl.

Rick was done with this shit. “Alright, that’s f-fucking _it,_ Morty.” He said, slamming the cup down on the table and then grabbing Morty’s wrist.

Morty yanked his hand away, glaring at Rick defiantly. “Just l-leave me alone, Rick! Fuck off!”

Rick growled, baring his teeth in anger. He was so fucking done with his shit. “You wanna play hard? Fine. We’ll play this the fucking hard way.”

He lunged forward so fast Morty has no time to react, and he threw Morty over his shoulder.

Morty yelped, squirming in Rick’s hold. “PUT ME D-DOWN!” He yelled, but Rick wasn’t listening. He started walking through the house as Morty continued to yell at him, trying to get out of the situation. He could see Squanchy and Bird following Rick from behind. Bird’s expression was blank, but Squanchy had his hand over his mouth, obviously trying to stop himself from laughing. Bird slapped the back of his head to get him to stop.

Morty pounded his fists weakly into Rick’s back, screaming at him to let go! _“Let me fucking go, you ass!”_

He didn’t stop struggling until they made it out through the front door of the house, and Rick threw him off of his shoulder. Morty almost fell of over, but Rick held him steady.

“You need to cut this shit out, Morty!” He yelled. “Getting wasted is not gonna solve _shit.”_

Morty felt tears brimming in the corners of his eyes, and he shoved Rick away from him. He turned around and walked all the way to the curb, and sat down. He wrapped his arms around his knees and stared down at the ground as the tears flowed down his cheeks.

He couldn’t handle this. He couldn’t handle not having Summer in his life. He loved her so much. She was his sister. And she hated him. _She hated him_. He knew there was Rick, but... he still wasn’t sure if Rick was doing to end up leaving him in the end yet, so he felt so alone right now. More alone than he could ever remember being.

“Morty.” Rick said from behind him. “Sam, Brandon, and I are getting out of here. We want you to come with us.”

Morty buried his face in his hands. He wanted to say yes, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. _‘Please take me with you. Please take me away from this place.’_ His mind screamed, but he couldn’t get his mouth to say it.

Luckily, Rick seemed to somehow understand him even without words to communicate. He crouched down next to Morty and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Morty?” He asked, and got no response. Rick sighed. “C’mon, Morty, lets go, alright?” He said, and he helped Morty stand.

There were many cars parked in their drive way and yard, and some were even parked down the street on the curb. They walked past a few before they arrived at a car that Morty didn’t recognize. It seems like it was Bird’s car, though, because Morty saw him get out a set of car keys and get in the divers seat.

Squanchy got in the passengers seat and Rick ushered Morty into the back seat with him.

After everyone was buckled (Bird had to nag to get Rick to get buckled) they started driving away. Morty watched as his house slowly disappeared as they traveled down the dark street. The radio had been turned on, and a soft song that Morty didn’t recognize was playing on it. The car was chilly, but the heater was on, so hopefully soon it would be warm.

A few minutes passed before the affects of the alcohol Morty’d consumed really started to settle in. His limbs felt heavy, and his head was sort of wobbly. He just couldn’t seem to keep it up properly. He felt warm and disoriented, and the movements of the car didn’t seem to help in any way.

His thoughts were becoming muddy, and that’s when Morty started to really regret drinking so much. It was just so hard to keep focus. Too blurry.

“Morty, you alright, there?” He heard Rick say, and his head swayed in his direction. Rick was staring at him worriedly.

“I-I’m alr’ght.” Morty slurred, waving him off clumsily. He sniffled, curling into himself on his seat. “Jus’—jus’— y-you w-were ‘ight. D-drank... was t-t-too much...” He felt like he could hardly function like this. He was completely vulnerable and exposed.

“Do... you feel like you’re going to barf?” He asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Morty shook his head. He just felt so... disoriented, and it was kind of hard to think. He didn’t feel like he needed to throw up, though, so that was a good sign.

Rick seemed to take his word for it and he leaned up to the two front seats. He started to converse with his two friends, and Morty couldn’t really catch what they were saying. After a moment Rick leaned back and faced Morty, scooting a little closer so he could talk to him. “So, uh, we’re going to Squanchy’s house to bunk for the night. His parents won’t be home ‘till the day after tomorrow, so it’s kind of convenient. Think you’ll be fine with that?”

Morty nodded, understanding what Rick was talking about. “Y-yeah.” He said quietly. He subconsciously leaned a little towards Rick before catching himself and pulling back. “Srry, srry...”

“You can lay on m-my shoulder if you want, Morty, I don’t mind.” Rick said, clearing this throat awkwardly.

Morty was too drunk to really think himself out of it, so he slowly leaned to the side until his head rested carefully on Rick’s shoulder. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but it was better than trying to keep his head up.

As time when on, Morty was vaguely aware of Rick shifting around. He was beginning to think that maybe Rick was uncomfortable. Maybe he’d just offered to be nice and hadn’t actually wanted Morty to lay on his shoulder. Just as he was about to try and pull away, Rick shifted yet again, and put his arm around Morty, pulling him just ever-so-slightly closer.

Morty relaxed into Rick’s side, breathing deep and slow to catch the other boys sent. He smelled like the fruit punch, still, and laundry soap... and something more that Morty could only describe as purely _Rick_. What were they after tonight? Friends? More than friends? Did Rick hate him after tonight? Was he just going to start avoiding him again tomorrow? He didn’t know, but he wanted to saver the time he had left with him if that was the case.

Morty, with his mind and thought process affected by alcohol, excepted the fact that he liked Rick somehow in some way.

He was smart and attractive and mysterious. He was also kind, at times, even though he’d hurt Morty at some points as well. He’s the only one that’s even been remotely nice to him in such a long time. He didn’t know why Rick would ever want to be around him, but... he was glad Rick was in his life, even with the consequences.

But he still could never be with him, even if Rick ended up liking him back.

 

 

* * *

 

When they got to Squanchy’s house, Morty felt like such a burden on the three friends. It was a struggle just to get him out of the car, because Morty was being super uncoordinated. He could tell the others were frustrated, too, and Morty kept apologizing, and they kept telling him it was okay.

But he knew it wasn’t okay, and that he was really messing things up for them and making everything complicated.

Morty tried to walk by himself, at first, insisting that he could do it. He was a big boy. He could walk. Morty _wanted_ to walk by himself, and he even argued with Bird a little bit so they would let him. He felt victorious by the end of the argument.

But the task in itself seemed to be impossible, and his victory turned into a rough defeat. Halfway across the lawn, he tripped over his own feet and nearly got a mouthful of dirt and grass. It was just his luck that Rick had been standing next him and had caught him in time. The rest of the way, Rick helped keep him standing, and Morty mumbled out a slew of apologies to him while also still insisting that he could walk by himself.

Rick, in the most polite way he could, told him to shut the fuck up and take the help.

Morty sighed and relented after that, finally letting the others help him. It was his fault he was like this right now. He shouldn’t have drank so much so quickly without any previous experience with the stuff. And now he, and the other three people around him, where suffering the consequences.

Inside the house, Rick sat Morty down on a couch as Squanchy and Bird went elsewhere for something, and Morty slumped against it bonelessly. Rick sat beside him, groaning. “W-what even happened at that party? It was j-just... so much...” He sighed, spreading out slightly to get more comfortable.

Morty hummed in response, unsure of what he was supposed to say to that. Maybe if he were sober he’d be able to think better.

“Y-you think you’re gonna be alright, Morty?” Rick asked, staring at the wasted brunette.

The teen took a moment to think, valiantly struggling to answer that question. Rick could see it on his face— the same face he made when he struggled with something in science class. Not that he struggled all that often, but when he did, it was usually when he knew the answer but didn’t know how to put it into words.

The teacher always got mad at him for it, and it always pissed Rick off, because he knew Morty knew the answer, (because he’d looked over Morty’s shoulder and saw his test answers when he wasn’t looking). It’s just sometimes hard to put it into words. The teacher was just so darn unsympathetic.

Morty lifted his hand for a moment, and opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but nothing came out and he dropped his hand.

“I d-dunno...” Morty slurred his words slightly, though it was clear he was trying pretty hard to focus. He shrugged lazily. “Summer’s— she’s m-m-mad at me... an’ I said... stuff...”

Rick furrowed his brow, perking up slightly in both mild irritation and curiosity. “What did she say to you, Morty?” He asked. Rick had a suspicion that she’d tried to lie to Morty about something Rick said or did, like what she’d tried to do to him. Either that, or she tried to get Morty to stay away from him.

Morty frowned, but it wasn’t directed at Rick. “She s-said I wazn’t able— allow— allowed to... to spend— to hang out with you an’more. I-I-I t-told her she couldn’t tell me what to do... a-an’ now she prolly hates me...”

So it was the second suspicion. Rick had to hold back a growl. Summer was such a bitch. She didn’t deserve a brother like Morty. “Just forget her, Morty, she’s not worth it anyway.” He said in disgust.

“Rick, s-she’s my s-s-sister...” Morty laid his head on the arm of the couch miserably. “I’ll n’ver f-f-forget her, even if she jus’ hurts me l-like most e’ryone else...” He knew that statement was entirely true. He may have told her off earlier, but tomorrow he was probably going to apologize and go back to old ways (with the exception of _maybe_ still hanging out with Rick, partly to spite her and mostly because he actually wanted to. Depends on how he feels tomorrow morning).

“You can’t let her do that to you, Morty.” Rick said, grabbing Morty’s shoulders and pulling him up so he could get the brunette to face him. Morty relented to Rick’s will yet again. “Y-you can’t just destroy yourself trying to make her happy.”

Morty smiled weakly at Rick. “W-w-what choice do I have?” He asked sadly. “I-I love my sis... too— too much t-t-to hurt her...”

“But she’s hurt you so much! Don’t you see how unhealthy that is for you?!” Rick pressed, hoping he could break through to Morty and get him to agree. Anything to get him to pull away from Summer. Morty was only getting himself hurt.

“Rick.” Morty said, but he didn’t really know how to continue. “Rick, I-I... she...” He shifted a little on the couch, leaning forward so that he could burry his face in Rick’s chest. If he were sober, he wouldn’t have done this. But Morty was so fucking wasted right now that he didn’t even care. “Youuu’reee too good... for s-someone like m-me... y-y-you should jus’ ditch me... s-stop being nice, or somthin’.”

Ricks heart was fluttering in his chest as he stared down at Morty, who was practically laying on him. “Morty...?”

“N-no’ody cares ‘cept for you, R-Rick...” Morty mumbled into him, nuzzling into his chest. Rick’s heart leaped into his throat. “Y-y-you should— shouldn’t waste your t-t-time with somebody t-t-that doesn’t matter...”

“Morty.” Rick said, staring down at the mop of curly brown hair. “Don’t say that. You matter.”

Morty shook his head. “I’ve never mattered... n-not to a-a-anyone...”

“C’mon, d-don’t be like that, Morty, there’s gotta be people that care about you. Like, uh, your family.” Rick shrugged. “Maybe not Summer, but your parents love you. I’m sure of it.”

Morty let out a sad chuckle at Rick’s attempt to cheer him up. Maybe his parents did love him to some extent. But... they didn’t love him enough to care. He couldn’t remember the last time they even asked if he was okay, or even noticed when he was hurt. “T-t-they’re never _home,_ Rick...” He said. “W-w-why do you think Summer throws so many parties...? I-I don’t matter...”

He pulled away from Rick, once again laying on the arm of the couch. Some part of him had enough sense to recognize that he was being kind of weird and that nuzzling into Rick’s chest was probably making him uncomfortable. He was too drunk to see the disappointed look on Rick’s face when he pulled away, though.

“Well, I t-think you matter, Morty.” Rick insisted. He just... didn’t understand why no one else saw how great Morty was. He was kind, selfless, and smart. He was cute, awkward, and quirky. How did no one else see it? He just couldn’t understand. Not even his parents saw the potential this kid had? “You’re amazing.”

Morty only giggled, finding that statement to be extra amusing. No one had ever said that to him. No one had ever called him amazing. Rick must have been drunk, too, or something, or else he wouldn’t have said that. “T-t-that’s a good joke, Rick.”

Rick felt a tug on his heart, and it _hurt._  How Morty thought his words were just a _joke,_ and not honest— it _hurt_ him deeply. He wanted Morty to understand. “I’m not joking, Morty...” He said sadly.

Morty, even while drunk, could hear the hurt in Rick’s voice. He lifted his head up to look at Rick, worry and confusion surging through him. What had he done? What did he say to hurt Rick? _What did he do wrong?_ “Rick, a-are you okay? I—“

Rick grabbed his shoulders, holding Morty with urgency. “Morty.” He said. “You matter to _me._ Please, _believe_ me.”

Morty just stared at him for a moment, trying to get his brain to comprehend Rick’s words completely. It just didn’t sound right for someone else to say that to him. No one ever said that to him. But there was only one thing Morty could say in response, and he meant it, too. “Y-y-you matter to me, too.” He said.

Rick pulled him forward into a hug and Morty gasped quietly, shocked by the action. He didn’t know how to respond, but after a few moments he shifted to hug Rick back. He went completely limp against him, relaxing into Rick. Man, he was so drunk right now.

They held each other for a long moment, but it was quickly broken when Rick saw both Bird and Squanchy walking into the living room. Morty slumped against the arm of the couch, clearing his throat, trying to act as natural as possible while Rick scooted a whole cushion away, also trying to act natural.

Bird was carrying a glass of water and some painkillers. He approached Morty. “Here. You might want to take this now to lessen the affects of your hangover tomorrow.” He and Squanchy were dressed in pajamas.

Morty mumbled a quiet thanks as he carefully took the glass and downed the pills.

“Alright, dorks, what movie we watchin’ tonight?” Squanchy collapsed into one of the rocking chairs. He grabbed a remote from off of the side table next to the chair.

Bird slowly sat down in one of the other rocking chairs himself. “A movie?” He asked.

“Yeah! I’m not tired yet. It’s Fall Break, and it’s only 10pm.” Squanchy complained. “We’re watching a movie. Any ideas?” He looked to his friends for suggestions.

Bird shook his head.

“What about you, Rick? Any ideas?” Squanchy asked almost desperately.

“I don’t know, man, just pick something.” Rick groaned, rolling his eyes.

Squanchy sighed exasperatedly. “What about you, Morty? Got a movie you wanna watch?”

Morty narrowed his eyes at Squanchy, trying to focus on his face. It was proving to be kind of difficult, though. He placed his glass of water on the coffee table in front of him. “Uh...” He didn’t want to disappoint Squanchy, especially after both Bird and Rick had basically shot him down. “H-have you guys ever watched that one movie... with the superheroes...”

“What?” Squanchy looked confused. “There are a lot of movies with superheroes. You’re gonna have to be more specific, dude.”

Morty was getting frustrated. He couldn’t remember the name. “The one with... with that one actress that also played in _Carrie_... with prom night and the pigs blood that got spilled all over her. And she had... phy... kick... whatever that word is... powers... she had magical powers...”

Squanchy shivered, a visual imagine of what Morty had described coming up in his mind. “I know what _Carrie_ is, but I still don’t know what movie you’re suggesting.”

Morty huffed, frustrated and drunk. “N-never mind...”

“You’re talking about Chloë Grace Moretz, right? From  _Kick-ass?”_  Rick asked, perking up slightly. He looked at Morty with a raised brow. “Chloë Grace Moretz played as Carrie, _and_  she was Hit-Girl in _Kick-ass,_ which is a movie about superheroes.”

Morty pointed at him excitedly, recognition on his face. “Yes! _Kick-Ass!_ Rick k-knows what’s up.”

“ _Ohhh_ , I know what _Kick-Ass_ is! That movie is so hilarious!” Squanchy said, chuckling to himself. “I’ll rent it right now.”

A few clicks of the remote, and some searching, and before they knew it, the opening scene of _Kick-Ass_ was playing on the screen. Morty realized five minutes into the movie that he was already lost. He’d seen this movie plenty of times before, and he always loved it, but the alcohol made him space out super easily.

Squanchy and Rick kept laughing at all of the funny parts, so it was evident that they were paying attention. And when he looked at Bird, he saw a small smile on his face, so he knew he was enjoying himself, too.

Morty felt something warm bloom from inside of him. He felt like... he belonged.

Hmm... maybe that was just the alcohol thinking for him, but he liked what it felt like to belong somewhere. It was nice. He really liked it.

He was vaguely aware of Rick slowly inching closer and closer to him, spreading out on the couch. He couldn’t tell if he was either trying to get closer to Morty without making it too obvious, or if he was trying to just get more comfortable. He decided to let it go after a while, though.

At some point, Morty became aware that Rick was partly slotted between him and the couch. He was propped up on one elbow, peering over Morty’s side.

Morty shifted onto his back slightly, laying on the edge of the couch to give Rick a little more room, and Rick gratefully slid his way all the way to the same arm of the couch Morty was using as a pillow.

And that’s when Morty’s body decided it was time to sleep, and his eyes slowly fluttered closed. He could feel the warmth of Rick’s body heat next to him.

His last conscious thought before he drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep, was about how Rick had kissed him earlier that night.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! It is greatly appreciated! <3
> 
>  
> 
> (“You should join the party,” Summer said. “It’ll be fun,” she said.
> 
> And then she yelled at him.)


	9. Gravity-Defying Pizza

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff. I’m bad at summaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. Look! I promise I’m not dead. Just lazy and busy at the same time. I’m a chronic procrastinator. I’m really super sorry it took so long for me to get this out. Like, I literally just finished writing this chapter today. That’s how badly I procrastinated. I hope this chapter is worth it, though. I’m sure you guys will like some of the stuff I put in it. Please enjoy, and once again I’m so super sorry for how long it took. Life just gets in the way sometimes.

 

When Morty’s eyes opened the next morning, the first thing he came face to face to was somebody’s chest. Pure confusion and alarm is what immediately filled his mind. He tried to push himself up, only to find that the person’s arms were wrapped around him, and their legs were tangled together with his.

Morty shifted just ever so slightly to look at the person’s face, and when he caught sight of who it was, he nearly fainted. However, he felt his panic mostly dissipate once a flood of memories from the previous night came barreling back to him.

The party, and then the whole thing with Rick and then Summer, and then drinking too much and leaving. He even remembered the conversation he had with Rick, picking the movie, and then Rick slowly inching closer before he finally fell asleep.

Morty internally groaned to himself, feeling a dull headache pulse behind his skull, partly from the hangover and partly from the frustration last night’s memories seemed to give him. The headache wasn’t as bad as he expected it to be, though, so he could definitely handle it.

Oh shit, what was he going to do about Summer? She was probably still back at the house trying to clean up the mess all by herself. Fuck. Morty didn’t even have his phone with him. He couldn’t even text her.

Morty looked up at Rick, who was still peacefully sleeping next him. His mouth was slightly parted with a little bit of drool, and his face was more relaxed than Morty had ever seen it before. All of the normal tension in his jaw was lax. The sight was kind of alluring, to be honest. Morty wasn’t going to wake him up, but he had to get out of this so he could find a phone or something. He distinctly remembered leaving it on the side table in his room.

Why he hadn’t taken it with him eluded the teen’s current logic. He was so fucking dumb sometimes.

He glanced around and saw through the living room window that it was actually still dark outside. His sleep schedule must still be programmed for school, or something. He was actually quite used to waking up at this time in the morning and then immediately falling back asleep because it was dark. He was still so very tired, and he wanted to do just that. But he couldn’t this time, though. He had to call Summer. He’d been so stupid for leaving last night, especially without his phone

He sighed, slowly readjusting himself in Rick’s hold. As he started to pull away, he was suddenly aware how _warm_ Rick was, and how cold the rest of the house was. He felt angered by himself for doing this, but he had to.

He carefully untangled his legs from Rick’s and slowly lifted the other teen’s arm up and off of him, setting it down next to him carefully. He then turned around, and went to stand, but before he could, a hand darted out to pull him back, and he squeaked as his back pressed against Rick’s chest.

“Don’t go yet...” Rick mumbled to him. “Too early...” He wrapped his arms back around Morty, pulling him closer.

“R-Rick?” Morty stammered, feeling a little anxious. He was still so confused about Rick, and this was only making him all the more lost.

“Shh, Morty, go back to sleep...” Rick hushed him, nuzzling his face into his shoulder. Morty felt a weird shiver run up his spine, but it wasn’t unpleasant. He sighed, relaxing into Rick. Maybe he could go for a few more hours of sleep. He was still tired, after all. Summer would be fine for a little while. With a yawn, he let his eyes drift closed once again.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The second time Morty woke up that morning, it was because someone was shaking him gently. His eyes fluttered open, and he looked around in confusion.

“Huh—? Wha—?” When he saw Bird standing in front of the couch, he sat up. He squinted up at him in confusion, still trying to shake the grogginess of his sleep.

His hair was messier than usual, all tangled and pressed to one side where he’d been laying his head. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows, illuminating half of his face.

“Morty. There is food in the dinning room.” Bird said, and then he reached past Morty towards Rick, who was still sleeping beside him.

Morty flushed furiously, and quickly hopped up off of the couch in a mild panic. Oh geez, that they really been cuddling like that? Morty was kind of struggling to process that information.

Oh god... Bird had seen them doing it, too. And Squanchy had probably seen it, too. That’s not good. He fidgeted with his hands anxiously, his face beet red.

Bird shook Rick awake, and the blue-haired teen grumbled out a few curse words, swatting him away. “Fuck off, I’m tired...”

“It is 10:30 in the morning, and we have food prepared.” Bird said with a small sigh. “Get up.”

Rick groaned, slowly sitting up. He squinted, much like Morty had, as his eyes slowly adjusted to the light of the room. “Fuck, I hate mornings...” He grumbled, rubbing his eyes. His hair was also much more messier than usual.

“Morty was much more pleasant to wake up than you were.” Bird commented with a small chuckle as he started walking off towards the kitchen. “You two should come eat.”

Morty watched him disappear around the doorway anxiously, not really sure what to do now. He hadn’t even thought about anyone seeing them together like that. God, he was so stupid sometimes. What was wrong with him? Why had Rick even done that? _Why would he want to?_

Morty hadn’t thought about it last night, and he clearly hadn’t thought about it earlier this morning, but... he couldn’t let people see them like that. It would only hurt Rick. Maybe it was fine this time because it was just Bird and Squanchy that saw it, but if anyone else from school saw they would surely be freaking out right about now, and everyone would know in the time span of maybe a day. And then everyone would hate Rick... and it would be all Morty’s fault.

Rick yawned from the couch, and Morty turned to look at him. He’d lost his lab coat during the duration of the night. Morty couldn’t remember when he’d taken it off. Morty, however, was still in full costume, robe and everything, and he was starting to get uncomfortable with it on. He pulled his arms through the sleeves, and lifted the entire thing up off of him. Underneath, he was simply wearing a yellow T-shirt and blue jeans.

He remembered wearing this exact outfit on the day he met Rick, and it brought memories to the surface of his mind. He’d really had fun jumping off the roof of his house that day.

He folded the robe up and set it carefully on the coffee table.

Rick stood up from the couch, standing next to Morty. “How’s the hangover?” His voice was more gravely than usual due to having just woken up.

Morty blushed slightly, turning away from Rick so he wouldn’t be able to see. God, he was just so embarrassed about everything that had happened between them. He’s never kissed someone, and he’s certainly never cuddled with someone, and he didn’t know how he was supposed to act anymore. He would have never expected to ever do anything like this with Rick Sanchez, of _all_ people. He’s known about him for a whole goddamn year, and until now, he seemed completely untouchable. And now he’s waking up in his arms? How does something like that even happen?

“I-I-It’s not as bad as I thought it would be, but I still have a headache. And my stomach kind of hurts.” He answered in a rush.

“Must’ve been the painkillers Bird gave you last night. Probably helped with it.” He said, almost absentmindedly.

Morty furrowed his brows. Now, _that,_ he didn’t remember. “He gave me painkillers?”

“Yeah.” Rick shrugged. “Don’t you remember?”

“No...” Morty trailed off, partly horrified. What else did he not remember?

Rick pulled the contemplative brunette from his thoughts when he placed his hand on his shoulder. “Listen, Morty,” He said. “You remember... what we talked about last night, right?”

Morty recalled the memory of Rick saying he matter to him. The memory was only slightly blurry. He definitely remembered all of the important stuff, though. He nodded. “Yeah, Rick. I remember t-that...” He trailed off for a moment, cringing at how he’d acted. He’d been basically a lush full of teenage angst, and he’d practically been all over Rick and stumbling around like a newborn baby. “A-a-and sorry... for being weird... during some of the parts...”

“Good, and it’s fine. You weren’t being weird.” Rick assured. He squeezed Morty’s shoulder for a moment before releasing him and turning to start heading into the dining room.

Morty followed him almost like a lost puppy, not sure exactly what he was supposed to do or where the dining room was. He looked around the unfamiliar house curiously as they walked. He hadn’t really had enough focus to really look around last night. The walls were plain white, with pictures hung up everywhere, and the floors were wooden, with rugs and carpets in convenient places.

As they walked into he dining room, Morty could see the kitchen through another doorway. Bird was setting up plates on the table and Squanchy was in the kitchen cooking something that smelled delicious. Morty’s mouth would have watered if not for the fact that his stomach still kind of hurt. Instead, the delicious smell only made him feel a little unsettled and queasy.

Rick sat down in one of the chairs, and Morty sat next to him. He felt awkward, sitting at a table in Squanchy’s house next to the most popular kid in the school. He didn’t belong, and his presence was only going to hold everyone back. After today, he really had to cut connections with them. He didn’t want to, but he knew he had to. Because if he doesn’t, he’ll only end up hurting them.

 

What would everyone think if they saw Morty hanging around them? They’d think they were just as lame as Morty and start hating them, thus ruining everyone’s lives. He had to get out of this before he got too comfortable with everyone, especially Rick

 

...Morty really fucking likes Rick. _Fuck._ This was exactly what he’d been trying to _avoid._ This was a bad thing. And Rick... maybe liked him back?

 

Oh God, no. No, no, no. Morty had to put a stop to all of this as soon as he could.

 

“G’morning, sleepyheads.” Squanchy said, pulling Morty from his thoughts as he walked into the dining room carrying a skillet. “Did you two enjoy each other’s company?” He teased. “While spooning each other? Haha.”

 

Morty’s face lit up and he buried his face in his arms on the table. Oh God, his fears have been confirmed. Of course they noticed, why wouldn’t they?

 

“You sure you two aren’t secretly doing it when we aren’t watching?” Squanchy went on, using a spatula to slide omelets onto the four plates at the table. He laughed as if he’d just stated something that was so hilarious.

“ _Squanchy.”_ Rick said warningly. “Cut it out.”

“ _Aw,_ c’mon, Rick.” Squanchy whined. “You two would be a great couple. I mean, are you still sure you don’t swing that way? You seemed pretty persistent about not being gay before.”

Rick fell dead silent, glaring at Squanchy with a clenched jaw. He literally couldn’t say anything. He wanted to once again deny how he felt, be he also didn’t want to deny it in front of Morty... because... uh... _well,_ you know. But Squanchy literally had him at check mate with this one.

Squanchy’s eyes widened, a devious look in his face. “Ah- _ha,_ so you _do_ swing that way!”

 

“I never said that.” Rick grumbled.

“Then tell me you don’t swing that way, and I’ll believe you.” Squanchy put the empty skillet back on the stove and turned around to stare at Rick, crossing his arms.

Rick was silent again, a light, embarrassed blush coming over his face.

Morty felt increasingly more awkward as the silence went on, and he refused to lift his head from the table. Bird was looking just as uncomfortable as Morty, stiffly eating his breakfast.

Squanchy cupped his hand around his ear and leaned towards Rick. “Hmm, looks like you’re not saying anything. Must mean you’re super gay for Morty.”

“Oh, God.” Morty groaned aloud. How did his life even come to this? “ _Why_ is this even happening right now?”

“It’s happening right now because I’m pretty sure Rick’s dick gets hard when he thinks about you.” Squanchy snickered.

“SAM! Cut it out!” Rick yelled, banging his fist on the table, causing the silverware to clatter. Bird sighed. “This _isn’t_ funny.”

Morty sat up finally, his face still as red as a fucking _cherry_. He pulled his plate towards himself and picked up the fork next to it. With stiff movements he forked his first bite into his mouth and started eating. His stomach wasn’t quite enjoying it, but Morty, himself, was. Because he was using it as a distraction. He was mentally distracting himself from the whole fucking situation.

Squanchy chuckled. “Alright, _alright_ , I’ll stop.” He said, rolling his eyes playfully. “ _For now.”_

Rick groaned, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. “You’re such an ass.” He said irritably.

Squanchy sat down at the table across from Morty. “We’ve established this already, Rick, we’re all assholes, except for Bird sometimes. And now that Morty’s here, I can say that we at the very least have one nice friend.”

Morty inhaled a piece of his food and nearly choked on it. “W-wait, w _hat?”_ He coughed into his arm, trying to clear his throat. His eyes were watering from the hacking he was doing.

“Geez, you alright, man?” Squanchy looked a little concerned now.

 

Morty cleared his throat. “I-I, uh, yeah, I... _geez,_ sorry about that.” Did Squanchy really just say they were friends now? What the fuck? Why would they ever want to be friends with him?

 

They don’t even know anything about him. Compared to them, he just looks like a loser. He _is_ a loser.

 

“You sure?” Squanchy pressed on.

“Yeah— yeah, I’m good. Sorry.” Morty coughed into his arm a few more times. “J-Just choked on the food... happens to us all sometimes...”

Squanchy shrugged. “If you say so. Anyway,” He began eating his food, while talking at the same time. “What’s on the agenda for today? How’s everyone getting home, and are we doing anything before that?”

“Well, _obviously_ Bird’s driving us, dumbass. He’s the only one who currently as access to car, ‘cause someone got grounded.” Rick rolled his eyes.

“Hey!” Squanchy protested, glaring at Rick. “Mom came home _early!_ I didn’t know she was gonna catch me smoking weed in the living room!”

“You should not have been smoking in the living room in the first place.” Bird said.

“Yeah, dumbass.” Rick chuckled.

Squanchy rolled his eyes, huffing. “Whatever.” He said. “So, when should Bird get you two home?”

“Um...” Morty timidly spoke up. “The earlier the better, b-b-because Summer’s probably having to deal with the mess all by herself... I-I need to get back soon so I can help her...”

He saw Rick grow tense from the corner of his eye. “Fuck that, Morty, you should just let her clean the mess herself.”

Morty turned to look at him, biting his lip anxiously. “I-I can’t, though, Rick... I just can’t.” When nobody said anything in response, Morty went on. “S-speaking of... can I borrow someone’s phone...? I-I better, uh... tell her I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes. You may borrow mine.” Bird said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and handing it over to Morty.

Morty gratefully took it. “Th-thanks, Bird.” He nodded towards him as he stood from his chair. “I-I-I’ll be right back.”

“Morty,” Rick called out to him as he was halfway out the door, and Morty turned back to him. “Just... forget her for a while. _Just for today.”_

Morty felt like he was deflating. He wanted to agree with Rick, but... he knew he couldn’t. The longer he left her in the dark, the madder she’d be when he got back. “It’ll be much worse if I w-wait longer, Rick... I gotta do damage control to lessen the blow.”

“You shouldn’t _have_ to do damage control. How often do you have to do that already?” Rick stood as well, grabbing Morty’s arm in a careful hold, like he was pleading him not to do this.

Morty didn’t know how to answer. The answer was _‘Every time something goes wrong,’_ but he obviously couldn’t say that. So he just shrugged.

“Morty, you _do_ remember what I said last night, right?” Rick asked desperately, his hold tightening slightly, but the action was more worrying than threatening.

“Yes, o-of course I remember, Rick, but...” Morty sighed. “Being _aware_ if it doesn’t actually do anything to solve my situation with her...”

Rick just stared at him for a long moment before he reluctantly let him go. Morty looked at him worryingly for a moment before making the rest of his way into the living room to call Summer.

Bird’s phone didn’t have a lock on it, so it was actually kind of easy to open it and find the call option. He input Summers phone number, which he’d memorized a long time ago. He didn’t have any friends, so... Summer and his mom’s numbers were pretty easy to remember when they were the _only_ ones he needed to remember.

He held it up to his ear as it rang, and after three, Summer picked up.

_“Hello?”_ She asked, obviously not recognizing the number.

“Hi, Summer...” Morty spoke quietly into the phone.

_“Morty.”_ Was what she said in response, as if having a sudden realization. She sounded annoyed. _“Where are you right now?”_

“At someone’s house...”

 

_“It better not be Rick’s.”_

Morty cringed. “No, I’m not at Rick’s.”

_“Who’s house, then?!”_ She demanded, practically yelling into the phone. Morty had to hold it away from his ear for a moment.

 

“S-Squanchy— er, Sam’s h-house.” Morty stammered.

_“So, what?”_ Summer scoffed, and Morty heard some shuffling on the other end. _“You’re fucking both of them now?! Are you a man whore?”_

Morty flinched at the accusation, feeling his face burn furiously. “W-w-what the hell, Summer?! No! Ew! Why would you ever think—“ Morty pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep, shaky breath. “Y-you know what? N-n-never mind. I’m not even surprised at this point...”

 

“Morty? You okay in there?” Rick called, peaking around the corner. He’d obviously heard Morty raise his voice.

 

Morty turned around to face him as Summer began screaming in his ear because she’d heard Rick in the background. She kept demanding to talk to him and calling Morty names, and the brunette had to once again hold the phone away from his ear.

“Summer—“ Morty tried, but she wouldn’t listen. “Hey, c-can you just— Summer, please listen—“

She kept screaming obscenities into the phone, ranging from, _“LET ME TALK TO RICK!”_ to _“YOU’RE A PIECE OF SHIT, MORTY!”_ and everything in between. It was like the Olivia thing all over again, except it was one person over the phone, not an entire classroom. Yet, somehow, because it was Summer, it seemed just as intimidating, and Morty just stared at Rick helplessly. What was he even supposed to do?

Before Morty could even react, Rick reached forward and snatched the phone from Morty’s hand and put it up to his ear. “SUMMER, SHUT THE FUCK UP!” He snapped, and Morty flinched from the volume of his voice. His hand was still outstretched towards Rick, in shock that he’d swiped it from him.

Summer went dead silent on the other side.

“Did you not fucking hear him telling you to fucking chill? What’s _wrong_ with you?” Rick scolded, and Morty thought he looked like he was about ready to pop a blood vessel.

Morty couldn’t hear what Summer was saying on the other end other than a low murmur.

“No! You’re fucking stupid if you think we’re doing that, and _that’s fucking disgusting.”_ Rick growled bitterly. He waited for a moment as Summer spoke. “Yeah, and so what if we actually _did?_ Are you gonna be a bitch about that, too? Is it so hard for you to simply let him be happy?!”

Summer’s voice rose on the other end.

 

“WELL I GUESS YOU’RE JUST NOT MY FUCKING TYPE, SUMMER!” He yelled. “EVER THINK ABOUT THAT?!”

“Rick.” Morty protested quietly, grabbing his arm as Summer screamed into the phone. “ _Please,_ j-just let me handle this.”

Rick seemed to be debating. His focus kept shifting between what Morty was saying, and what Summer was saying. It was obvious that he didn’t want Morty to have to fight this battle, but Morty decided it was probably best that he did it himself. It might hurt, just like it does every time, but he’s been through it before. He can do it again.

Rick, biting his tongue at something Summer was saying on the end, finally relented. He pulled the phone away from his ear and shoved it into Morty’s hand. “ _Fine.”_ He said, kind of bitterly. But Morty didn’t mind his attitude. He knew it wasn’t directed at him.

Morty held the phone up to his ear, and heard the tail end of an argument she’d been making. “Summer.” He cut her off.

_“What?”_ Summer barked out the question.

 

“I’m coming h-h-home soon to help you clean.” He said defeatedly. “I-I don’t want to talk about anything w-with you.” He meant it, too. Sure, maybe he was going to _maybe_ try to distance himself from Rick, but it wasn’t because Summer was asking him. This decision wasn’t even vaguely about Summer at this point— it was purely about Rick, and protecting him from... well, basically himself. He just had to figure out which path to take.

 

If Rick was caught being friends with Morty... or even _flirting_ with him... then everyone would start to hate Rick. His social status would plummet.

Morty also knew he would never be enough for Rick. He’s been told all his life how weak, how small, how stupid, how useless he is. He couldn’t stay with Rick. He couldn’t even be his friend, because he’s just going to end up being dead weight in the end. He’ll hold him back like a ball on a fucking chain.

“ _You don’t get to make demands here, Morty! Well talk about whatever I say we—“_ Morty pressed the end-call button on the phone, and he took a deep, shuttering breath as he tried to regain his composure.

Rick looked at him worryingly. “S-sorry... about that...” He said. “I couldn’t just let her... y’know...”

 

“Yell at me? Call me worthless? Tell me what to do?” Morty supplied, listing all of the things that Summer usually did to him when she was mad. “All of it?”

“Yes, all of it, Morty.” He said, grabbing his shoulders. Morty was starting to notice how Rick was making a habit of touching him like this. “She can’t just... she...”

“I know, Rick...” Morty looked down at the ground, his eyes tracing the lines along the wooden floors. “But she does, a-and I don’t think she plans on stopping.”

“But that’s bullshit! How can she—“

“Rick.” Morty said, cutting him off before he could go into a tangent about how horrible Summer was. “T-there’s nothing that can be done. I-I’ve been living with her since I was born, and I know how to d-deal with it... I’ll be fine.”

“Morty, you are nowhere _near_ the definition of _fine.”_ Rick released him, pacing slightly in front of him. He seemed to be very irritated by what Morty had said, and the brunette found himself flinching slightly at some of Rick’s words.

“You— you— did you even _see_ yourself last night?” He faced him, mouth set into a hard frown. “You fucking— you went straight for the alcohol, which, by the way, is _not_ a good coping mechanism. Next, you were sobbing on the side of the road after I had to literally _drag_ you out of the house. You are not _fine,_ Morty. You might say you are, and maybe you really are fine right at this moment, but you’re not _fine_ with every-fucking-thing else. And I’m not fucking stupid, so don’t go thinking I won’t see straight through your little façade.”

He was staring at Morty intensely now, hands clenched at his sides, but not angrily. Just tensely, like he was mad, but only because he didn’t want Morty hurt, when he so obviously was right now.

Morty tried to think of anything he could say back to that, but he couldn’t. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, unsure of what he was even supposed to say when Rick was so right on the nail.

Morty knew he wasn’t _fine,_ just like Rick said. He was lonely, and sad, and hurt. He was constantly teetering from being a broken mess, to being just barely sturdy enough to hold his own ground. It was a constant back-and-fourth motion that couldn’t seem to make a decision, and Morty was struggling because of it.

School was a battle zone, and home was eerily quiet and solitarily lonely. His parents were distant, and Summer was constantly breathing down his neck like a detective stalking a criminal, except he was always unsure of what crime, exactly, he had apparently committed. It was stressful, and Morty felt like he was constantly lost because of all of it.

Trusting people was nearly impossible, and he was on his toes most of the time, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was after him. He wasn’t happy, and he most definitely wasn’t _fine._

He was terrified, and alone. Sometimes he was broken, and sometimes he was patched together with some shitty pieces of metaphorical scotch tape that he’d struggled to apply to his heart all by himself.

But what was he even supposed to say to Rick right now? Tell a sob story about how horrible his life is? Bore him with his life story? No. He was just supposed to say he was fine, and move on. No one really ever asked if he was okay, and when they did, the only thing they wanted to hear was _‘I’m fine.’_

People don’t care if you’re hurt. They don’t care if you’re _not_ fine. So Morty had programmed himself to just say that he was. He’d handled his life okay like this so far, he can keep hanging on. Life was shit, and he struggled to find the motivation for continuing, but he wasn’t giving up on it anytime soon. He wasn’t okay, and he wasn’t _fine,_ but he was hanging on, even if it was by only a thread.

But Rick was... Rick didn’t want him to say he was fine if he really wasn’t, so what was he even supposed to say?

“I’m worried about y-you, Morty.” Rick said, and his expression matched his words.

Morty blanched, blinking a few times as he struggled to process those words. How many weird things was Rick going to say to him? He cares? He worries? What is even happening? No one ever says that to him! _No one!_ Not even his parents.

But Rick was breaking records right now with the things that people hardly ever say to him. It was so... _confusing_.

“R-Rick, I just... I-I-I don’t...” Morty pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes for a moment, taking a deep, steading breath. He pulled his hands back, letting them fall loosely to his sides. What was he even supposed to say in response? Maybe he should be asking Rick that question, because lord knows Morty’ll never be able to figure it out himself. “W-w-what do you want me to say...? I-I just... I don’t u-understand...”

Rick just stared at him with a concerned look on his face for a moment before he said anything. “I-I want you to be honest with me when something’s wrong. Tell me _why_ it’s wrong, and how I can help you.”

Morty looked down at the ground again, debating how he should go about this. “Fine, I’m not okay.” He admitted quietly to Rick, his voice barely above a whisper. “And I haven’t been f-for... for a long time.” Morty couldn’t remember the last time he’d actually been happy, to be honest.

When he was told to think back on happy memories, blurry pictures showed themselves on the surface of his mind, forgotten faces and forgotten places. But he could never remember what exactly they were about. “But t-there’s nothing you can do— nothing _anyone_ can do. I’m...” He hesitated, glancing up at Rick. He was still looking at him with that concerned expression on his face. “ _Not_ okay... but I’m alive, and... I-I’m hanging on, so... I _will_ be okay... even if that day doesn’t come for a long time.”

Rick grabbed his shoulders again. “Morty, I-I-I promise I will be the one that makes everything okay.”

“Rick...” Morty looked away, feeling his heart flutter weirdly at the statement. On one side, it gave him hope. On the other, though... he felt doubt, because it was a task that he could never fulfill, even if he wasn’t just giving him an empty promise. “Y-y-you can’t fix this. No one can—“

“I’ll find a way, Morty. I’ll figure it out, I promise.” He said insistently. “I will _make_ a way.”

Morty didn’t believe that he could. Maybe some part of him did, some part of him hoped— However, he knew he knows that he can’t. How could anyone fix his life? And _why_ would anyone want to? It just... didn’t make any sense _at all._

But if Rick wanted to try, Morty would let him. He didn’t know how he was gonna do it, and he didn’t know how he was going to let him at the same time he was gonna try and squirm his way out of Rick’s life, but it was gonna somehow happen.

He looked at Rick, holding his gaze. He wanted to reach out to him, hold him, _something,_ but he didn’t know how he was supposed initiate something like that, so he just settled for eye contact. “Okay.” He said quietly.

Rick smiled softly at him, and as if reading his mind, he pulled him forward into a hug. Morty squeaked, still unused to it even though Rick had already done it once before. He remembered it from last night when he’d been drunk. He slowly hugged him back, slotting them both close together. For some reason Morty felt guilt— like he was betraying Rick for doing this. He wanted the hug, of course, but he felt like shit for excepting it.

It wasn’t fair to Rick. Morty was nobody, and Rick, who was so much more than Morty would ever be, _cared_ about him. He was afraid of hurting Rick and holding him back, and he was also afraid of losing Rick.

But, he guessed... maybe with Rick was where he belonged. If things started to go downhill— _when_ they went downhill— Morty would find a way out of it to save Rick.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Guys! There’s a carnival in town!” Squanchy practically screeched, staring down at his phone. He practically had stars in his eyes. “We _gotta go._ It’s so awesome!”

“What? Really?” Rick asked, leaning over his seat in the car to peak over his shoulder. “Oh, cool. We should go to that.”

Morty felt a bubbling excitement blossom within him, but he held it back. He loved carnivals, but... he didn’t have money, so it’s not like he could even go. He’d also feel bad if he made someone else pay for him.

“You in, Morty?” Squanchy asked, and he and Rick turned to look at him.

Morty looked back at both of them nervously. “Um, well, I don’t have any money...” He said. “P-plus, I don’t really like carnivals that much, so...” He lied, chuckling nervously.

Rick saw Morty’s eyes dart to the left for a spare second when he said he didn’t like carnivals, and he instantly knew he was lying. Why would he lie about something like that? “You sure? I mean... I can pay for you.”

Morty looked uncomfortable, and he shifted in his seat slightly. “I’m—I’m sure. Y-y-you guys go without me. I-I have to help Summer clean anyway.”

“It’s open tomorrow as well.” Squanchy said absentmindedly, scrolling through his phone.

“Yeah, and we could help you clean... if you want. You shouldn’t have to do it all yourself.” Rick added. “The mess is probably pretty bad.”

“Um, what?” Squanchy glared at Rick. “C’mon, man, I don’t wanna clean, and I don’t want to be anywhere near that bitch. Morty’s a good guy, but Summer’s like... Satan, or something.”

“Sam, if Morty has to deal with her every day, we could deal with her for only one.” Bird said, not turning his attention from the road.

This car ride had started out as just a ride back to Morty’s house, and then they were going to drop Rick off. But it seemed the plan was changing, and Morty was starting to get anxious.

“Ugh, fine,” Squanchy pouted like a child. “We’ll help clean.”

“I-I-I’m not so sure that’s a-a good idea...” Morty said nervously, fiddling slightly with his hands. It was a small anxious tick he got sometimes. “I mean, Summer is... she won’t be happy if— I mean, it-it’s just not a good idea. I-I can clean it by myself, honest. I’ve done it before.”

“Nope!” Squanchy announced from his seat. “It’s already been settled.”

“But—“

_“Nope!”_ Squanchy said again, and Morty shrunk down slightly. “We’re doing this.”

“Yeah, Summer can eat shit anyway, Morty. Besides...” Rick said, smirking at Morty. “It’ll be fun to hang out a while longer.”

“ _Aww,”_ Squanchy cooed teasingly from the front seat, leaning over the back of it so he could face Morty. “Look, Morty, he loves you!” He clasped his hands together and batted his eyelashes.

Rick let out an angered growl and punched him in the shoulder.

“ _Yeouch!_ ” Squanchy yelped, flinching away and rubbing his arm. “What was that for, you ass?!”

“I didn’t even hit you that hard!” Rick crossed his arms, glaring at the ginger-haired teen.

“Yes you did! That hurt!” Squanchy whined exaggeratedly, still rubbing the arm Rick had punched.

“Oh, quit whining, ya baby!” Rick rolled his eyes.

Morty kept looking back and forth between them as they argued, not really sure what to say or do. Were they always like this? Were they actually arguing, or was it just friendly banter? He didn’t know the answer, but regardless, it was stressing him out.

“Um, g-guys...?” Morty spoke up again. He was getting a little more confident in doing so. “I-If you’re actually going to, uh, do this... Can you promise you won’t f-fight with Summer?”

“Of course, Morty.” Bird said reassuringly. “And if any of us do, I’ll drag them out of the house myself.”

Rick scoffed, slumping down in his seat.

Morty bit his lip anxiously, hoping that today would go by a lot more smoothly than he was fearing.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

When they got to the house, the door was already unlocked. As Morty entered, with the other three following behind him, they came face to face with the mess. Morty didn’t remember it looking so bad when they’d left, but then again he had been kind of preoccupied at the time.

The decorations were all messed up, and there was trash and food _everywhere_. Things were broken, and stains were on the floors. “Aw geez,” Morty said, his eyes fluttering around the house anxiously. He felt something akin to embarrassment at the state of his house while there were guests over. “This i-is gonna be a nightmare to clean...”

As he walked into the dining room, he found Summer sitting at the table with a cup of coffee in her hands. She looked like a mess, with dark bags under her eyes and make-up smeared across her face. Her hair, while still partly in a bun, was messy, and she was wearing pajamas.

When she saw the four boys walk in through the dining room threshold, she jumped slightly in surprise. When she recognized them, however, she frowned, disgusted, before she abruptly stood from her spot and sped up the stairs to her room without saying a word.

“Gee, that was a welcomed hello.” Squanchy said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

“She does not exactly want us to be here.” Bird shrugged. “We are here for Morty anyway, so it does not matter.”

Rick had his arms crossed, eyes glaring up the staircase. He was glad she left. He didn’t want to deal with her right now.

“A-a-alright, so...” Morty said, clearing his throat awkwardly. He really didn’t want them to have to clean for him. It just didn’t feel right. He could do it himself. He’s done it before, he can do it again. “Y-y-you guys can seriously just crash in the l-living room. I-I can do the cleaning myself without an issue.”

“Morty.” Rick said, grabbing his hand and leading him into the living room. Morty felt his heart flutter, more used to Rick grabbing his arm or his wrist— but he was holding his _hand_. What the fuck was even happening? The moment of confusion was quickly interrupted when he looked around the living room.

It was a complete disaster, with the coffee table completely buried with plates and cups, and food stains and trash on the floor. There was random confetti, and the lightbulbs on the ceiling fan were shattered and littered on the floor. The couch pillows were in disarray, some of them halfway across the room. Rick pointed to the ceiling, and Morty’s eyes quickly followed. “There’s _literally_ a piece of pizza stuck to the ceiling. We’re definitely helping you clean, man.”

Morty’s jaw dropped open. “What the fuck?” Just as Rick had said, there was _literally_ a piece of pizza stuck to the ceiling. It didn’t seem possible for something like that to even happen, but here he was, staring at it. It looked like someone had thrown it up there, because the sauce was splattered around it. “How is that even possible?”

“I don’t know, but remind me to never order from whatever pizza company it’s from.” Rick said, chuckling.

Squanchy bursted our laughing from behind them, staring up at the pizza on the ceiling. “That’s the best thing ever! I’m taking a picture!” He pulled out his phone and aimed it up at the ceiling. “Oh my god, that’s so hilarious! I wish we could’ve stayed long enough to see how that happened!”

“Agreed.” Bird said, staring at the pizza with a raised brow. “It is very... peculiar... that something like that happened.”

“I think s-someone threw it up there?” Morty offered a hesitant explanation, not really sure of himself.

“Well duh, but that doesn’t explain how it just... _stayed_ up there.” Squanchy went on. He was still taking pictures. He looked down at Rick and Morty, and he suddenly smirked devilishly. “You sure you two aren’t secretly gay for each other?” He snickered.

Morty was confused for a second before he looked down and saw that he and Rick were still holding hands. Rick seemed to notice at the same time as him, and the two teens both yanked their hands away from each other and jumped a few feet apart.

Morty felt his face go bright red, and very quickly, he sped walked out of the living room and into the kitchen. He opened the cupboard under the sink and pulled out four garbage bags. “Um—um, w-w-we should start with g-getting all of the trash!” Morty announced from the kitchen, shamelessly avoiding what had just happened.

He ran back into the living room and shoved a garbage bag into each of their hands. Squanchy was still snickering quietly to himself, and Rick was just looking completely lost and unable to fully comprehend what had just happened.

When Morty started clearing all of the stuff off of the coffee table, Rick snapped out of it and started helping. “Geez, sorry ‘bout that...” He whispered quietly to the brunette, stacking a few cups before shoving them into his garbage bag. Bird and Squanchy were absorbed in their own conversation across the room, picking garbage off of the floors.

Morty was still as red as physically possible. “I-It’s fine... I seriously didn’t even notice until, uh... until he pointed it out...” He’d honestly forgotten about it when he’d seen the mess in the living room. Almost like it just... worked that way. But now he couldn’t help but be hyper aware now that it had even happened in the first place.

Rick paused for a moment, scratching the back of his head. “Me neither...” He admitted.

“Yo, can I use the speaker in the kitchen?” Squanchy called out to Morty. “I wanna listen to music while we clean.”

“Uh, sure, go r-right ahead.” Morty said back, a little hesitant. He didn’t want him to like blast the music super loud or anything. “B-but keep it down so we don’t bother Summer.”

“Cool, thanks!” Squanchy ran into the kitchen. A few minutes later, a song Morty actually recognized started playing. It was _Hooked on a Feeling_ by Blue Swede, and Morty chuckled to himself. He’d always found the opening to be a little weird and funny. He hummed along with it as he continued to clean.

 

Cleaning was way easier and a lot more fun when others were helping you, Morty had quickly discovered. Squanchy and Rick were really into dancing and singing along with whatever songs came on, and doing things extra exaggeratedly to be goofy.

 

Rick spent most of his time helping Morty and basically just hanging out with him. Morty didn’t even think much of it, himself, because he was also trying to be around Rick, too. They asked each other a lot of questions, and told funny stories. Rick had a lot of funny stories to tell, and Morty had a few himself, but they were mostly about him and Summer when they were both younger, or about brain-farts that he’d had in the past... like that one time he ran into a pole because he was distracted by a crow on the side of a road.

Rick had laughed pretty hard at that story, and Morty felt himself go red. A confusing array of a emotions had been going through him since Rick had kissed him, and he didn’t know how to handle them.

He still didn’t even know if Rick liked him or not. Sure, the guy full on fucking kissed him, but after the kiss... things had gotten a little weird. Morty asked him how he felt, and Rick said he didn’t know. And then he started being super nice to him, and telling him he cared about him, and that he was worried. Morty was just so lost with this guy. He didn’t know if Rick wanted to be friends, or if he wanted to be more... and he wasn’t even sure himself if he wanted to even _try_ to be with him.

Maybe he could do friends and it would be fine, but he knew, deep down, that even if Rick liked him, he couldn’t allow himself to be _with_ him. He’d only bring Rick down, and he couldn’t do that to him.

The brunette shook his thoughts off and focused more on cleaning and making small-talk with everyone.

Squanchy, as expected, was cool and a touch on the hyper side. He was overly energetic, yet... it wasn’t in an annoying way. He was just a really positive person. He could see why so many people liked him.

Morty still couldn’t really peg Bird all that well. He made jokes, and they were actually really funny, but he found it kind of hard to tell when he was being serious or not.

Squanchy, somehow reading his thoughts, had told him that it would be easier to read him once he knew him more. He just needed to give it time. Bird didn’t seem all that offended at how hesitant Morty was, so at least there was that.

They had cleaned up the living room, and Bird had replaced the lightbulbs, having been the only one tall enough to do it. Squanchy used a broom to smack the pizza off the ceiling. Nothing could really be done about the stain, though. Morty vacuumed the carpets (and the he vacuumed the fake spider webs from the corners) and Rick swept the hardwood floors.

The kitchen wasn’t as messy, besides some throw up in a corner, an overflowing trash can, and dirty dishes in the sink. It was an easy clean.

They put away all of the snacks and bowls that had been set up in the dining room, and they even helped wash the bedsheets in his parents room, despite how disgusting it was. Morty felt stupid for not putting an ‘off-limits’ sign on their door.

Fortunately, it worked for Morty’s room, so maybe it would work on his parents room next time, so he wouldn’t have to do this anymore.

They left Summer’s room untouched, none of them daring to even go near her bedroom. She was quiet inside of it, not a single sound indicating that she was there at all.

In record time, the entire house was cleaned up. Morty triple checked everything to be sure, the only thing they were unable to clean being the tomato sauce left over from the pizza that had somehow been stuck to the ceiling. Morty still had no clue how that had even been possible. He wondered, distantly, how he was supposed to explain it to his parents once they noticed.

Rick, Squanchy, and Bird, were all in the living room, talking on the couch. Morty was the only one paranoid that they’d missed something, and they were waiting for Morty to join them. Boy, did he have one huge debt to pay back to them.

An idea sprung up into his head, and he quickly sped into the kitchen, throwing open the refrigerator. He grabbed some honey smoked turkey, and some mayonnaise. He then went to the pantry and gathered some bread before placing all of the items on the counter in front of the toaster.

He opened the silverware drawer, grabbed a butter knife, and then closed it again with his hip. It was a practiced motion.

He put two slices of bread in the toaster and set about making five turkey sandwiches. It was easy to make, and they had plenty of materials to go around for making them.

He knew everyone else was probably hungry because they hadn’t eaten since around ten in the morning, and now it was five in the afternoon, and Morty himself was hungry. He also hadn’t seen Summer come down at all, not even for food, so she was probably hungry, too.

He finished the first one, put it on a plate, set it to the side, and started the next one, and then repeated until he had all five finished. He peaked his head into the living room to see how everyone else was doing. They were all still engaged in a conversation. Good. That means he had time to go up to Summer first.

He picked up one of the plates and grabbed a soda (sprite, her favorite) from the refrigerator before quickly making his way up the stairs. Morty hesitated in front of Summer’s door, anxiety rising within him. He really hoped she’d cooled off a little bit.

Stealing his nerves, he knocked on the door.

“Go away!” Summer yelled through the door, her voice muffled.

Morty frowned. “I brought food.” He said.

There was a pause before Morty heard some shuffling, and slowly, the door creaked open to reveal Summer. She no longer had makeup smeared across her face, and she seemed a little more cleaned up. “Why the fuck would you bring me food?” She asked.

Morty rose a brow, blinking a couple times at the stupidity of that question. “Uh, because you’re my s-sister? And I don’t want you to starve to death?” He held the plate and soda out towards her.

She glared at the items in his hands for a moment. “How do I know you haven’t done anything to it?” Her fingers curled around the edge of the door, her knuckles turning white.

“You think I’d—“ Morty cut himself off with a huff. If his hands had been free, he would have punched the bridge of his nose. “ _You_ would probably be t-the kind of person to do _‘something’_ to a sandwich when you’re mad at someone, but I’m not like that. I-I-I-I just k-know that you haven’t eaten since this morning because you’ve been locked up here. W-we finished cleaning everything, by the way. No thanks to _you.”_ He hated throwing parties.

 

“So, what, is Rick your dog now?” Summer sneered. “Do you get him to do your bidding?”

 

Morty gave her an incredulous look. “What t-the hell, Summer?! No!” He pushed the plate and the soda into Summer’s hands, forcing her to take it. “Y’know, I tried to _discourage_ them from helping me clean _multiple times_. But they wouldn’t let up. They _chose_ to be here. With _me._ Can’t you just stop blowing every little thing out of proportion?”

Summer stared down at the turkey sandwich, confused. “I don’t understand... why you’re still giving me this...”

“I’m giving it to you because I’m not an asshole. Now, just take it and be grateful, because n-n-not everyone would d-do this.” Before she could say anymore, Morty closed her door and quickly made his way back downstairs.

He was frowning deeply as he walked into the kitchen again, staring at the remaining turkey sandwiches. He huffed, upset over his interaction with Summer. He gathered all four of the rest of the plates, struggling not to drop two of them as he walked into the living room. The first thing he saw was Squanchy lifting up one of the couch cushions. He was probably looking for a remote.

Rick and Bird were talking about some TV show that was called... Ballfondlers...? What the fuck kind of a name was that?

Without saying anything, he placed the plates on the coffee table, grabbed the TV remote from off of the side table next to his dad’s rocking chair, tapped Squanchy on the shoulder, handed him the remote, picked up one of the plates, and flopped down into his dad’s rocking chair.

“Oh shit! You made us sandwiches! And thanks for the remote.” Squanchy exclaimed, picking up on of the plates and sitting down on the cushion he’d just been looking underneath. “What are these, turkey?”

Morty suddenly felt embarrassed for making them. He didn’t even ask if they wanted anything to eat... he’d just... done it. Geez, that was weird of him, wasn’t it? “Um, y-yeah... turkey sandwiches with mayo... sorry if it’s not, uh, what you’d prefer. I-I-I don’t know what kind of foods you guys do and don’t like. I-I can make something else if you guys—“

“Morty, chill, it’s all good.” Rick said, grabbing his own sandwich. He took a huge bite out of it before continuing to speak with his mouth full. “I’m fuckin’ starvin’. Tank you fo makin’ ‘em.”

“I greatly appreciate it.” Bird said as he started eating his own.

Morty chuckled nervously. “Haha, um... it was nothing.” He was unused to people thanking him for stuff. He does a lot of stuff for people, and sometimes he gets the very vague ‘ _thanks,’_ but that’s about it.

Squanchy figured out the remote, using it to turn on the TV. It was turned on to cable and they were channel surfing randomly. After a while of skipping over boring show after boring show, Squanchy groaned from the boredom. He’d already finished his sandwich, along with Bird and Rick, while Morty was almost done. He was just slower at eating, he guessed.

Squanchy sighed. “Geez, I wish we could just watch inter-dim—“

“Sam!” Rick cut the ginger off. He sideways glanced at Morty, and Squanchy’s eyes followed.

“ _Oh shit_ , that’s right.” Squanchy said, shrinking down in this seat a little. He looked off to the side nervously. “Sorry...”

Morty looked at them in confusion. “What were you going to say?” He asked, completely missing what had just happened. He felt like he was missing a piece to the puzzle.

“He wasn’t going to say anything. He was being _stupid_.” Rick said, glaring at Squanchy angrily. “It’s nothing you need to worry about, Morty, I promise.”

Morty frowned slightly, feeling completely left out of the loop on this one. What had he been trying to say? Inter... something. What did that even mean? “Were you going to say inter-dimensional? Is that some kind of TV show, or something?”

Squanchy’s eyes widened in alarm, and he turned to look at Rick, like he was begging him to _do something._

Rick groaned. “Yes, Morty, it’s a TV show, and it’s just really fucking stupid and Squanchy really loves it for some reason.” He glared at Squanchy in annoyance.

Morty couldn’t help but feel like some of the annoyance was directed at _him_ , and he could also somehow could tell that Rick was lying, but he decided to let it go. Apparently, it wasn’t his business, and Morty could except that, even if it hurt a little bit that they were keeping secrets from him. “O-okay...?” He said in a slightly confused tone, turning his attention back to the TV. It’s better if he just forgot about it. If they don’t want to tell him, they don’t have to.

The room got awkwardly quiet after that. It was obvious to everyone that Morty knew that they were lying to him. Morty didn’t like that it was so unbearably awkward like this. It was almost suffocating. Everyone’s focus was on the TV, but no one was actually watching it.

“Wow, is it tense in here, or is it just me?” Squanchy asked, tugging at the hem of his shirt. “Geez, it’s definitely tense in here. I’m gonna go get some air.” He stood from his spot and left the living room.

Bird rolled his eyes as he left. “May we please just watch TV without it becoming unreasonably awkward?” He asked, as monotonous as ever. “Look, _Adventure Time_ is playing. I have never watched this silly children’s cartoon, but I am quite intrigued by the yellow dog and his stretchy powers.”

Morty turned his focus to the TV, having only really watched the show when it was the only thing on. He watched as a yellow dog named Jake on the screen changed his shape repeatedly throughout the episode. “Huh, that’s a pretty cool... and weird... superpower...” He said absentmindedly.

Rick huffed, propping his head up on his hand as he watched the TV as well. He was frustrated that he couldn’t tell Morty what Squanchy had been about to say. But he knew he couldn’t drag Morty into all of that bullshit... he already made the mistake of dragging Brandon and Sam into it.

“Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit,” Squanchy came running back into the living room, looking panicked. “Guys!” He whisper-yelled, making Morty jump slightly. All eyes were on him. “I was about to open the front door when the nob started turning! I think Morty’s parents are home!”

Just as he said it, the sound of Morty’s mother’s voice sounded from the front of the house. “Kids! We’re home a day early!” She shouted.

Morty shot up from his seat in a panic, and so did Rick and Bird. What was he gonna do?! He had to get Rick, Sam, and Brandon out of here before they saw! He’s never had anyone over before, what was he supposed to do?! “C-come on, this way.” Morty whispered frantically, gesturing for them to follow as he quickly snuck into the kitchen where the sliding glass doors that lead to the backyard were. Maybe he could sneak them out that way.

He froze, however, when he saw his dad walking into the kitchen through another doorway. “Hey, kiddo,” He greeted. “Do you know who’s car is out fro—“ He spotted Rick, Sam, and Brandon standing behind Morty, all with guilty looks on their faces. “Oh.” Jerry looked tense all of a sudden.

Morty felt like he was about to faint, his eyes widening in fear. He was _shaking,_ feeling like a kid who’d been caught with their hand halfway inside a cookie jar at midnight. “Dad, I-I can explain—“

Rick suddenly walked past Morty and up to Jerry. “Hello, Mr. Smith.” He said, holding his hand out. “My name is Rick Sanchez. I apologize for being here without your permission.”

Morty just stared at Rick in shock, completely bewildered.

Jerry took his hand and shook it with a suspicious look on his face as Beth walked into the room. “Oh my god, why are there random kids in our house?” She asked, eyes wide.

 

“Um, honey, this is... Rick.” Jerry explained, releasing his hand and gesturing to the blue haired teen with a confused expression.

Rick held his hand out to Beth next. “Hello, Mrs. Smith. It’s nice to finally meet you.” He said, and Beth shook his hand slowly.

Beth looked past Rick, and to Morty. “Morty, why is he here?” She asked. “And... who are they?” She said, gesturing to Brandon and Sam.

“T-they... they’re...” Morty looked at Rick, and then back at Sam and Brandon. “They’re m-my um... friends, Mom.” He said self-consciously, unused to the word. It felt almost complete foreign on his tongue. He almost felt uncomfortable saying it. “I- we were just— um, we— I asked them to come over and hang out. I-I didn’t ask you guys because I didn’t think you’d be home until tomorrow...” He looked off to the side anxiously.

“Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, my name’s Sam, and this is Brandon.” Squanchy smiled nervously, waving at Morty’s parents. Brandon waved, too.

Beth looked suspicious for a moment before her entire face lit up. “Oh! This is great,” She said. “It’s very nice to see that Morty has been making friends. I didn’t even know he had any, haha.”

Morty felt his face heat up like the sun, embarrassment running through his veins. He fumbled with his hands slightly. Why did she say that to them?

“Why don’t you guys stay for dinner in a couple hours? I’m making lasagna!” She offered.

“ _Beth,_ we don’t know anything about these kids.” Jerry said to her through clenched teeth. “They could be, I dunno know, drug dealers, or something.”

Beth shot Jerry a vicious glare. “Jerry, this is the first time Morty’s brought a friend over, let alone _three_ at the same time. Don’t ruin this.”

Morty found it ironic that they were currently in the process of ruining the whole thing due to their arguing. He was about to offer to make them leave, but Rick spoke before he could even open his mouth.

“I would love to try some of your lasagna, Mrs. Smith.” He said. Morty was really confused by his excessive amount of politeness. He’s never seen him act like this, and from what he’s heard, he’s pretty disrespectful towards adults, too. Rick didn’t have patience for anybody.

Beth practically looked ecstatic. “It’s a pleasure to have you three over! I’ll be cooking dinner in about thirty minutes. Why don’t you boys help yourselves to some TV, hmm?” She began ushering them back into the living room.

Morty forced himself to smile up to his mom. “Okay, mom.” He said. Once the four of them were back in the living room, returned to their former seats, he dropped the smile and frowned. _Adventure Time_ was still playing, but he wasn’t watching it. His mom wasn’t making any sense. Usually she showed little to no concern for his life. She didn’t care what he was doing, and showed very little interest when he tried to talk to her. She mostly just ignored him, or brushed him off.

Morty had learned a long time ago that his mother was uninterested in anything to do with him, so he stopped going to her, even when he needed to. He wasn’t close to his mom, and he never had been. Heck, she forgot his birthday two years in a damn row. She was almost completely absent from his life. Why was she acting like this now? Was it because he had friends over?

But why would that make a difference? Was she just pretending to care so she didn’t look bad in front of others? Or was she actually happy for him, because he now had friends, when he’d never had friends before? Even when he’d been very young, no kids had ever wanted to be near him, so maybe that could actually be it?

 

Nah.

 

His mother didn’t care enough for something like that. She was probably doing the former. Just gotta be normal enough to appease the public...

 

He sighed to himself, laying his head on the armrest of the rocking chair. Dinner was probably going to be really weird. Squanchy, Bird, Rick, Summer, _and_ both of his parents were all going to be there at the same time. It could only go horribly. It was definitely going to be a catastrophe, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. Sam, Brandon, and Rick definitely wouldn’t want to be friends with him once they saw how horrible his family’s chemistry was.

His parents were going to get into some petty argument, and Summer was probably going to say some nasty things about everyone at the table, and everything would be ruined, and Morty wouldn’t have friends anymore. They were also probably going to actively point out all of his flaws, as they always seemed to do. That would definitely get them all to realize how unworthy Morty was of their friendship.

Maybe... he could try to bail or something. That sounded good. He just had to figure out how and where.

 

Maybe he could hide on the roof? That sounded like a good plan. No one would think to go looking for him up there.

But what if someone called the police because they found out he was missing? Ugh, was there no escape from dinner? Did this really have to happen?

“I’m gonna use the bathroom.” Morty said, standing from his seat. It was a lie so he could leave the room. He felt the sudden need to just be by himself for a little while.

“M’kay.” Squanchy said, not really listening. His focus was on the TV. Rick looked at him for a moment, nodding to acknowledge that he’d heard what he’d said.

Morty left the living room and headed upstairs. He passed the bathroom and went straight for his own bedroom. He closed the door quietly behind himself and crawled into his bed. He didn’t want to deal with anything else today. He was admittedly still exhausted from everything that had happened yesterday.

He’d managed to stuff it all down for most of today. Everything that happened with Summer was still kind of eating him up inside, and he was still extremely confused with the weird stuff that was happening between him and Rick. And now he apparently has a total of three friends, and he doesn’t even know how or why that even happened.

 

It just happened over night, like magic. Poof! Rick, Bird, and Squanchy, the most popular guys in school, who hadn’t even known he _existed_ a little over a month ago, we’re now his friends.

And Rick _fucking_ Sanchez kissed him. He still couldn’t understand that. Rick cares about him, but he just couldn’t understand _why_ , and he was so confused. Does Rick like him or not? Did he feel what Morty felt when they kissed? Was he confused, too, or had he already decided that he didn’t want Morty that way?

Why did he— _they_ — do all those weird things, like sleep on the couch together and hold hands? Morty did it mostly because Rick wanted to, and he also didn’t stop him because _he_ wanted to do that stuff, too. He’d _wanted_ to cuddle up to Rick on the couch. He’d _wanted_ to sleep next to him, and hug him, and kiss him.

Morty pulled his blanket over his head, groaning as he felt his face heat up from both the memories and the frustration they were giving him. There was no way he could look at anything that had happened recently and make any sort of sense out of it. Every acton contradicted itself.

There was a knock on Morty’s door, and a wave of déjà vu came slamming into him like a title wave. He sat up in his bed, glaring at the door. It better not be Rick. It seriously better not be him. They kept meeting like this, and it was really starting to become a thing that they did. First at the party when he barged in and crashed into him, and then at the second party, too.

He stood from his bed and walked over to his door. Hesitantly, he reached for the nob and opened it.

 

It was Rick.

 

_Goddammit_.

 

The older teen was looking at Morty in confusion. “Are you okay?” He asked.

Morty nodded. “I-I’m alright. Just... needed a moment.” He spoke truthfully, remembering Rick’s words from earlier in the day about being honest when he asked him this question. But why did he have to be honest when Rick wasn’t being entirely honest...? He was hiding stuff from him. Morty decided to shove those thoughts deep into the back of his head. He was just going to pretend that he didn’t even know Rick was keeping things from him.

Rick looked nervous, and he scratched the back of his head. “You know... I-I can make something up for us to leave, I-If you really want us to.” He offered, looking off to the side.

Morty sighed, looking down at floor. “Do y-you... _want_ to leave?”

Rick instantly seemed to back-track, waving his hands out in front of himself. “No. _No!_ Of course not, Morty, I just mean...” He hesitated. “Do you want us to leave? I-I don’t want to stress you out or anything with the whole... _dinner_ thing. I would love to stay. It’s been fun... hanging out with you...” His cheeks turned a light shade of pink, and Morty felt his own face heat up almost immediately in return.

But then the feeling was replaced with confusion and a slight amount of irritation. “Rick, y-you’re really starting to confuse me.” He said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

 

Rick rose a brow, seeming confused himself. “Wh... what do you mean?” He asked.

Morty looked down both sides of the hallway, feeling paranoid that other people could hear them talking about this. He grabbed Rick’s arm and pulled him inside his room, closing the door behind them. Rick looked even more confused now.

Morty ran a hand through his hair nervously. “I-I don’t understand w-what you want from me, Rick.” He said, talking kind of fast. He sounded kind of panicky, and he _was,_ because it was so nerve-wracking to be so direct about this. “Do you want to be friends, or something else? B-because... a lot of the things you’ve been doing... kinda points towards _something else_. But... last night after we kissed, y-y-you said you didn’t know, and I-I-I kinda just assumed you didn’t like me t-that way. You’re just— I’m so confused. Y-you were confused, and now I’m confused, too.” He wasn’t looking at Rick, too afraid of his reaction.

“Morty.” Rick said, sitting down in Morty’s desk chair, his shoulders slumped. “Y-you— I was just so... _embarrassed_.” He explained. “Last night, you pushed me away. I-I thought I’d made a mistake, and t-that you... you didn’t like it, or something, so I said I didn’t know because I didn’t know what else to say.”

Morty stared at him for a moment before he slowly sat down on his bed. “I-I panicked.” He admittedly shamefully, blushing from the embarrassment. “T-that was my first kiss, and I wasn’t expecting it, so I panicked. You k-kinda startled me, Rick...”

Rick laughed almost incredulously. “Startled you? H-how does a kiss startle someone?” He asked, giving Morty a weird look.

Morty looked away. How the fuck could he not have been startled? He never even expected Rick to kiss him! He just... _did_ it. Without warning. He didn’t know he was gonna do it until he did, and Morty wasn’t prepared, so he panicked. And if anyone were to kiss him, Morty would have never thought _Rick_ would. Couldn’t he understand that? Morty was literally nobody, and he knew it, too. He couldn’t imagine why Rick would even do that— why he’d even like him anywhere near enough to kiss him.

Rick must have noticed he’d upset him because the next thing he knew, Rick was back-tracking again. “I-I didn’t mean that. I’m sorry.” He said, standing up from the desk chair and sitting down next Morty on the bed.

 

Morty looked over at Rick, his heart beating a mile a minute. God, how could this guy affect him this much? His eyes instantly darted down to Rick’s lips, and the memory of Rick kissing him last night filled his mind. He blushed furiously. _Oh god, what was wrong with him?_

Rick leaned forward slightly. “Can I kiss you again?” He asked quietly. “I-I’m asking this time so I don’t... y-you know... startle you.” He sounded like he was both joking and being serious.

Morty didn’t say anything. He swallowed, still staring at Rick’s lips and unconsciously leaning forward. His heart was pounding so harshly against his rib cage that he feared Rick might even be able to hear it. “Rick...” He said barely above a whisper. He didn’t know why he even said his name.

Rick lifted his hand up to Morty’s face, brushing some of his brown curls behind his ear. Morty felt like his cheeks were made out of fire as Rick leaned in and pressed his lips to Morty’s for the second time.

Morty closed his eyes, leaning into the kiss. He felt the same butterfly feeling in his stomach as before, fireworks practically exploding from behind his eyelids. Both he and Rick moved closer to each other, their hands shamelessly roaming along each other’s arms and chests. Rick was more confident with his roaming than Morty was, his hands sliding up his arms slowly, and down his chest, running along his sides and stomach and to his thighs. Morty felt shivers run up his spine, and he almost moaned into the kiss.

Morty realized that Rick feeling him up was staring to become a huge problem when he felt arousal bubble within him.

Embarrassment washed through his system at that revelation. He felt all warm— _too_ warm, like he had a fever, and his pants felt just barely tighter than usual. How could he be _this_ worked up already?

Nope. Nope nope nope. He pulled away again, his face burning with his embarrassment. He could only hope that Rick _would not fucking look down._ He was _not_ prepared or ready for that. Fuck fuck _fuck._ He had to calm himself down, _Christ_. How could he possibly be _this_ affected?

Rick’s cheeks were tinted with red, his lips wet from the kiss. He pulled back a little when Morty pushed away again, though he didn’t look confused or hurt by the action. Almost like he’d been prepared for it.

 

Morty felt shame fill within him. He did it again, didn’t he? He panicked, and pushed him away. How pathetic was that? He couldn’t even kiss someone without freaking out. Couldn’t kiss a guy without getting fucking half-hard in under a second. “I-I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I-I-I did it again. I’m just— I don’t know how to process any of this, Rick, I-I really _really_ like you, but—but I-I’ve never— no one’s _ever_ liked me before, and—and I didn’t ever— I mean, I didn’t think—“

“Morty, chill.” Rick said calmly, a small smile on his face. “It’s fine, I-I understand. We’ll take the scenic route.”

Morty took a deep breath, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart (and his throbbing dick, but he was trying not to think about that). It was... nice of Rick to offer to take this slow, but... he wasn’t even sure they could go through with it. But, God, did he want to. “I-I really _really_ like you, Rick.” He said nervously. “But—but I don’t think we can do this.”

Rick’s smile slowly faded, and he tilted his head slightly, looking almost hurt. “Why not?” He asked.

Morty stood from his spot on the bed, running his hands through his hair, as he often did when nervous. “I-I won’t be any good for you.” He said, beginning to pace slightly. He was filled with a bunch of nervous energy, and his heart wouldn’t stop beating a mile a minute. He felt like he was going to have a fucking panic attack, and wow, wouldn’t that be embarrassing! A panic attack over something like this? What was wrong with him?

“I-I-I’m nobody, Rick. I-I don’t have any friends, and I don’t do anything interesting. I-I just sit at home doing nothing, and I eat my lunch at school alone, or-or in the bathroom. T-the only interesting thing I do is avoid people _constantly_ , because I’m afraid. I’m _always_ afraid, and I’m _always_ alone. And if—if—if we dated, everyone would hate you, and Summer would be hurt, too, I just—“ Morty had to stop talking for a moment so he could remind himself to breath. “You’re s-so much better than me. H-h-how could you ever like someone like me? Y-y-you’re making a mistake, don’t you see t-that? I don’t get _why_ you insist on-on being my friend, or anything for that matter, because I-I’m— I’m not _worth_ it. And I-I-I’ll only end up hurting people in the end, I’ll h-hurt you, and I’ll hurt Summer, and I’ll hurt myself—“

 

He’d gotten more frantic as he’d gone on, sweat trailing down the side of his face as he paced around the room. So much so, that Rick started to get just as overwhelmed as Morty was, and he stood up and grabbed the brunette by the shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. “Morty, _stop.”_ He said, shaking him a little bit to get his attention. “Chill, man, you’re freaking out.”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry...” Morty apologized frantically, pulling away from him. He looked down at his hands. They were shaking. “I-I’m sorry.” He said again. “I-I’m sorry. I’m such a fucking mess r-right now. I’m sorry.”

Rick grabbed Morty’s hands in his own, hoping that it would somehow help Morty calm down. “Morty, there’s no r-reason to apologize.” He held his hands together in a firm, reassuring hold. “You’re not going to hurt me. I-I don’t know why you think you’re going to, but you’re not.”

Morty stared at Rick’s hands, remembering how days ago, they’d been used to beat the crap out of someone. Now they were being used to comfort him. “E-everyone hates me.” He said, memories flashing through his head of both days spent with his family and at school. “T-t-they’ll hate you, too, if we get close. I-I don’t want that. And Summer, she— I already hurt her. I-I-I can’t do that to her anymore. S-She really liked you, a-and I ruined it. I-I ruined it so bad, ‘cause now we’re in this mess.”

“Morty, I’ve never even _liked_ Summer.” Rick said, pulling Morty a little closer to make him look up. “Sure, she can throw an awesome party, but I’ve never liked her. She’s always been too talkative and bitchy. And it sounds a lot to me like s-she’s purposely trying to make your life miserable. And for no _fucking_ reason, at that. She likes to cause drama and then play the victim role, and she’s guilt-tripping you s-so she doesn’t have to feel like anything’s _her_ fault. You’re her scapegoat, even though _none_ of this is your damn fault.”

Morty looked away, staring down at his space-themed carpet. He didn’t have anything to say to that. He knew it was true, but he didn’t want to believe it. He didn’t want to believe Summer would do that, even though he knew she was. He knew Summer was guilt-tripping him, but for some reason, being aware of it wasn’t enough to save him from it.

“And Morty, who gives a fuck if the whole damn world hates me?” Rick said, rolling his eyes. “They can just get the fuck over it, because their opinions don’t matter to me, and if anyone did or said anything, I’d beat the shit outta of them and be done with it. And I literally can’t see any reason as to why the fuck everyone would hate you. You’re smart, and selfless, and kind. Maybe if more people saw that, they’d fucking love you, but if they’re not willing to search for the good in you, they’re not worth your time anyway, so screw them.”

Morty was still looking away, but Rick’s words were breaking through to him like a pickax through ice. He still didn’t feel worthy of Rick’s affection, though. He didn’t want everyone to hate Rick, even if the blue-haired teen said he didn’t care if they did. He was conflicted, unsure of what decision he wanted to make. It would be so easy to just be with Rick, but he had to think about it. He had to be absolutely sure that things wouldn’t go terribly wrong, and he felt so strongly that they would. “Rick, I don’t know what to do right now.” He said, barely above a whisper.

Rick sighed, his whole body slumping. “How about this:” He said, seeming to have an idea. “We can just be friends for now, alright? We’ll take it at whatever pace you want, even if the pace is just at an eternal stand-still. Unfortunately, that won’t s-stop me from flirting with you, but we don’t have to date if you don’t want to. I won’t force anything on you.”

Morty sighed, leaning forward until his head crashed into Rick’s chest. It was easy to do so with the height difference between the both of them. Morty was definitely shorter than what was considered the average height for boys his age. And Rick was taller than average.

“I’m gonna take this as a yes...?” Rick asked in an unsure tone, not really sure what to do with his hands as Morty rested his head on his chest.

Morty stood up straight again, looking at Rick with an almost sad expression. “I-I don’t want to lead you on...” He said. “That makes it sound like you’ll be waiting for me, w-when I don’t even know if I’ll a-actually... be with you...”

“Do you want to be with me?” Rick rose a brow.

Morty looked away again, blushing furiously. He nodded slowly, feeling his heart pound inside his chest. Of course he wanted to. What kind of question was that? He just... felt like he _couldn’t._

“Then that’s good enough for me.” Rick said with a small shrug. “Work t-through your issues and sort your thoughts and feelings. And when you’re done, let me know what you wanna do. Until then, we’re just friends.”

“But... y-you’re still gonna flirt with me...?” Morty asked in a questioning tone, because that completely confused him. Rick said they were gonna be just friends, but he’d still flirt? How did that even work?

Rick chuckled, smirking at Morty. “I won’t be able to help it, f-friends or not, Morty. You’re fuckin’ adorable when you’re flustered.”

Morty flushed red, letting out a few failed attempts at talking that turned into random stutters.

Rick laughed again. “Geez, Morty, you really are easy to fluster. All I said was that you looked adorable, and you became a stuttering mess.” He teases playfully. “It’s like what happened with the waiter at IHOP all over again, except worse.”

Morty narrowed his eyes at Rick, glaring at him. He gently punched him in the arm. “J-Jerk.” He said, still as red as a ripe tomato.

Rick placed his hand over his heart and scoffed, a fake-hurt look on his face. “You hurt me, Morty, how dare you.” He said in an over-dramatic voice.

Morty giggled, causing Rick to smile. “You ready to go back out there, or was there another reason you came up here?” He asked.

Morty looked away, his smile turning from genuine to unsure. He should probably tell him. It’s easier to be honest during such intimate moments. “I-I’m just worried about dinner...” He admitted, furrowing his brows slightly in thought. “It’s more likely that things will go wrong tonight. I mean, you, Brandon, and Sam will be here... and so will my parents and Summer. It all kind of sounds like a nightmare come true. And m-my mom sort of... she’s acting _weird.”_

Morty felt like he’d said too much. Now it really did sound like he was telling some sob story about how his mother was emotionally unavailable for him.

“Morty, if it’s too much, I can seriously just come up with some excuse for us to leave. We still have the carnival tomorrow, so I won’t mind skipping dinner.” Rick said, sitting down on Morty’s desk chair once again. He scratched the back of his his head in an almost sheepish way.

Morty sat down on his bed, folding his legs. He’d almost forgotten about the carnival. They would still be able to hang out tomorrow if he made them leave, but he still felt like asking Rick to leave would be rude. “No... y-you can stay. If all three of you had to leave, it’d be suspicious anyway.”

“Well, what if it was just Sam and Brandon that left?” Rick suggested with a small shrug. “Sam could say that there’s something going on with his family, and Brandon’s his only ride, so they’d both have to leave.”

 

Morty looked at Rick like he was crazy. “I-I can’t just ask them to leave, Rick. I-I don’t even know them that well, I met them yesterday. I-It would be rude...”

“Then I’ll ask them to leave.” Rick smirked, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll text them right now.”

“Rick, no, don’t.” Morty protested, looking worriedly at the older teen. “C’mon, just leave it.” He went to reach for Rick’s phone, but he pulled it out of his reach.

“It’ll be fine, Morty.” Rick said, eyes on his phone, and fingers tapping across the screen.

Morty looked at Rick helplessly, not knowing what to do. “Rick, I-I really don’t want to make them leave... it makes me feel bad. What if they want to stay?”

“Don’t feel bad, Morty, I’m the one who’s making them leave.” The blue haired teen said. “Having seven people at a four-people-table sounds like an overcrowded dinner. They’d probably prefer to eat pizza back at Bird’s anyway.”

Morty gave up trying to reach for the phone, and deflated slightly. “Well, at least ask them if they _want_ to stay, r-rather than just kicking them out.”

“Is that a request, or a requirement for you to let me to this?” Rick asked, looking up from his phone.

Morty hesitated, not really sure how to answer that. It was both, really. He couldn’t exactly force Rick to stop, but he would definitely be more comfortable letting Rick ask them to leave. “Both?”

Rick chuckled at him. “O _kay,_ I’ll ask if they want to stay.” He concluded with a small sigh. “For you, Morty.”

 

Morty blushed again, and he buried his face in his hands.

 

Rick typed on his phone for a few moments before he tapped Morty on the shoulder to get his attention and showed it to him. Morty furrowed his brow, staring at Rick’s phone curiously, surprised that Rick would actually show him anything on it.

 

_**‘Rick: Yo, mind if you guys bail on dinner? You can stay if you want to, but I think it would be easier with less people.** _

 

_**Sam / Squanchy: Dude idek what’s going on with that. I think dinner will just be awkward with us there. Kinda been looking for an escape plan. How r we gonna do dis? /** _

 

**_Brandon / Bird: I agree with Sam. I have no quarrel with Morty or his parents, but it would feel weird to dine with people I do not know._ **

 

**_Rick: Sam, just say that you have some family stuff you gotta do, and Bird is the only person who can drive you._ **

 

**_Sam / Squanchy: k, we’ll do that whenevr you get back from wherever u went. When did u even leave, dude? :_ **

 

Morty finished reading the texts with a sigh. He felt partly relieved and partly guilty.

 

“See?” Rick said. “It’s all good.”

Morty furrowed his brow as a thought crossed his mind. “If they don’t want to stay, then why do you?” He asked, fumbling with his hands slightly. “I-I mean, don’t you think it’ll be awkward...?” He both did and did not want Rick to stay. He wanted him to stay so he could feel a little less isolated, and so that Summer would have less of a chance at actually scolding him at the dinner table. But he also didn’t want him to stay because of the unwanted tension that was sure to hang heavily in the air.

He had so many problems in his life, and he felt like he was dragging Rick into all of it. Attaching shackles to his ankles and holding him back from a happier life. Did Rick really want that? To be dragged down by him?

“Oh, I fully expect it t-to be horribly tense and awkward.” Rick chuckled nervously, shoving his phone back into his pocket. “But... I thrive in situations like that. And I don’t e-exactly feel... comfortable... leaving you alone with them... for r-reasons...”

Morty looked down at into his lab. “I-I can deal with it, you know... I’ve _had_ to deal with them all my life. Dinner will probably suck, but afterwards, I can just go hide out in my room. K-kinda like I’m doing right now.” He shrugged, forcing a small chuckle.

“I know, but...” Rick sighed, deflating. “I just need to be here today for this. Just today, for dinner. I-I...” He cleared his throat, looking embarrassed. “I-I, um, wanna make sure— I’m feeling kind of...” He trailed off.

Morty rose a brow, his heart beating a little faster as puzzle pieces clicked together in his mind. Was Rick feeling protective, or something? Oh, geez.

 

When Morty just continued to stare at Rick, he shrunk down. “I just want to make _sure_ that you’re okay, and the only way I can really do that is by seeing it through myself.”

 

“Wh...” Morty hesitated, another thought entering his head. “What about your p-parents? Won’t they be worried? Y-you haven’t been home for, like, two days now, right?”

Rick chuckled, like the idea was ridiculous. “They’ll be fine.” He said, completely brushing it off. “Now,” He said, changing the subject. “Why’d you say your mom was acting weird earlier?”

Morty’s eyes widened just ever-so-slightly at those words. “Oh...” He shied away a little bit, not really sure how to answer that question. “W-well, you see... she’s usually... not so cheerful. I d-don’t really know how to describe it. S-She just... I don’t know...” He finished lamely, shrinking in on himself. He must look so pitiful to Rick.

Rick was looking at him, trying to find his eyes. But Morty wouldn’t look directly at him. “She isn’t usually interested in your life?” He offered, almost like he completely understood what Morty was trying to say.

Morty met his eyes, surprised that he understood without him even explaining it all that well. “Yeah...” He said, barely above a whisper.

Rick sighed, running his hands through his hair and leaning forward slightly. “I get that.” He said. “Wow, no offense Morty, b-but your family’s pretty shitty.”

Morty felt a tug on his heart at those words and he cringed. “I’m sure they have their reasons for being like this...” He tried to defend them.

“Morty, even if they did h-have reasons, that’s still no excuse for them to completely neglect you. That’s bullshit.” Rick said with a bitter tone.

“Y-yeah, well,” Morty shrugged. “They’re family. There’s nothing I can do about it. Family is the kind of bully you can’t really get away from...”

Rick opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by a soft series knocks on the door, that caused Morty to jump a little bit. They both exchanged a glance in each other’s direction, Morty’s green eyes nervous and Rick’s blue eyes curious.

Morty stood from the bed and walked over to the door, slowly opening it. Summer was standing there, though her focus seemed to be more on her phone than Morty. “U-uh, what’s up?” Morty asked timidly, unsure of what to expect from the ginger that seemed almost endlessly upset or angry.

She was apparently chewing on a piece of gum, that fact becoming evident to the brunette as he watched her blow a pink bubble. It quickly popped after a second, and she returned to chewing it. “Mom said dinner is almost done.” She said in a bored voice, still not looking away from her phone as she spun on her heels and walked away.

Morty glanced back into his room at Rick, who had stood up and was standing behind him. He sighed, walking out of his room and following his sister down the stairs with Rick right behind him.

Dinner was going to suck.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Sam and Brandon left after Rick and Morty had gotten back downstairs. The short ginger had told Beth, whom he’d referred to as ‘Mrs. Smith,’ that his mother had called and told him to return home immediately. Brandon then jumped in and asked if Sam would need a ride, and he said yes.

Beth had seemed kind of disappointed that two of the guests in the house were leaving before dinner, but she let them go nonetheless. Not without welcoming to come over again sometime in the future, though.

Pretty soon after, the remaining people in the house were seated at the dining room table, plates of lasagna before them. Morty mostly just poked at his food with his fork, furrowing his brow as he listened to the conversation.

“So, Rick,” Beth has begun almost immediately, a smile on her face. “How did you and Morty meet?”

Summer nearly spat her drink out, coughing. She struggled to clear her throat as she stared at Rick almost intently, as if begging him not to tell her about the party.

 

Morty had frozen in place, but other than that, he kept his composure. He had no clue if Rick knew they weren’t supposed throw parties, and he feared that before dinner ended, he’d be grounded for something he didn’t even technically do.

“He’s in my science class.” Rick responded nonchalantly, smiling kindly back at Beth. “We were lab partners last semester.”

Morty almost laughed, but he restrained himself. That was a complete lie, and Rick had executed it so well. After all, the best lies are sprinkled with a little bit of truth.

Summer visibly relaxed, and Morty resumed poking at his food.

Jerry chuckled. “Let me guess, you did all the work?” He asked. “We all know he couldn’t have contributed much.”

Morty sunk down in his chair, feeling embarrassment slam through him almost painfully. He sometimes forgot that his family all just assumed he was stupid, or something. When they weren’t ‘forgetting’ about him, they were calling him an idiot. And maybe he was, but Rick was here... and he hoped his family wouldn’t make Rick hate him.

Rick’s smile slowly fell, quickly morphing into more of a frown. “Well, no.” He said. “The work was pretty much 50/50. He’s really good at science.” He knew this because Olivia didn’t ever even spare a glance at the projects she and Morty worked on ‘together.’ He actually did 100% of the work while Olivia took dumbass selfies. And he’d peaked over Morty’s shoulder a few times to check what grade he’d gotten, and they were always perfect 100s. He knew Morty really liked science. It was something he admired about the brunette. 

“Oh.” Jerry said, frowning back at Rick as if he were disappointed the blue-haired teen hadn’t agreed with him. Rick already hated this man, despite this only being the first conversation they’ve had. “Well, in that case,” Jerry went to continue. “What kind of projects have you two been working on?”

“Last week we d-dissected a p-pig.” Morty spoke up quietly. It was a true statement. They for some reason skipped the whole cliché frog thing and went to baby pigs. It was for a short, but important, biology lesson, as the teacher had explained.

“And we also extracted the DNA of a strawberry.” Rick added, which was also true. Another short biology lesson. 

Summer chuckled. “I remember doing that last year.” She spoke without looking in their direction. “It was pretty cool.”

“You guys dissected a pig?” Beth asked, astonished. She stared at the three teenagers with wide eyes.

“Y-yeah...” Morty stammered nervously, shrinking back slightly. “I-I-I-It wasn’t as bad as it s-sounds.”

Beth took a sip from her wine glass. “No, I mean... I’m just surprised. I never did that in school, and I’m glad that you have the opportunity to do such a thing.”

Morty chuckled awkwardly, not really knowing what to say.

“I agree.” Rick smiled. “Education is of great value, and doing such projects really opened up our eyes to how the world works.”

Morty stared at Rick, who was sitting next to him. Rick skipped class a majority of the time, from what he’d heard. In fact, he pretty frequently heard his name get called through the intercom system, telling him to report to the attendance office. It was so ironic of him to say such a thing about _school,_ of all things, especially since he skipped it half the time. He quickly realized that the sleaze was buttering his mom up, as if trying to get her to like him.

Rick caught his suspicious gaze and he grinned back at him, as if sharing an inside joke. Morty snorted, shaking his head as he turned back to his food. The action seemed to go unnoticed by his family, somehow.

“Oh, I’m so glad that my son his making such well-mannered friends.” Beth smiled gleefully, turning back to her husband. “He’s such a good kid, don’t you think, Jerry?”

Jerry rolled his eyes, grumbling under his breath for a moment before bitterly responding. “Yeah, honey.” He shoved a forkful of lasagna into his mouth and chewed it almost angrily. “He’s just _great.”_ He paused. “For a freakin’ hooligan. He’s still just some random kid in our house, Beth, we should have kicked him out a while ago. Who knows what he could do? He could literally be here to steal from us, Beth.”

Morty wanted to apologize to Rick for how his father was treating him, but he knew he couldn’t at the dinner table. He just wished his dad would stop acting like this. He hated it when he was like that. “D-Dad...” He said, barely above a whisper. He was surprised when Jerry had actually heard him and turned to look in his direction. He shrunk back at the angry frown on his face, unsure of himself. He felt like he’d just trapped himself. He hadn’t even meant to say his name out loud.

He knew exactly what he wanted to say, too. He wanted to tell him to stop acting the way he was. He wanted to tell him to shut the fuck up and stop being so rude to Rick, who was literally the most amazing person he’s ever met. But he couldn’t just flat out say that to his dad. He’d yell at him and ground him for a month, and maybe he’d even slap him, like he’d done on a few occasions when Morty had tried to argue with him. It was never a really painful smack, only leaving a light red mark on his face for the next hour or two, but it was enough to rip his heart in half. The emotional pain could never add up to the physical pain. “I-I-I um— well, I-I-I-I just— well, you,” He let out a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head anxiously. “I-I’m— I just wanna a-ask— I wanna say—“

Jerry held his hand up to stop him, and the brunette clenched his jaw closed, almost as if there was some sort of invisible force keeping it that way. He couldn’t have opened his mouth to speak, even if he was offered a billion dollars. “Morty.” He said after a moment, raising his hands up to his head and rubbing his temples. “You know I hate it when you stammer like that. It’s so damn tedious and annoying. Just stop talking already. Let the adults speak, would ya?”

 

Morty nodded without even physically trying to. It was that same invisible force that seemed to move his body and control his actions for him. He hardly ever spoke to his parents unless it was needed, and it was for _this_ specific reason. He hated his stutter, and he also hated the fact that despite this, he tended to blabber a lot.

He was pretty talkative sometimes, and it wasn’t intentional, especially when he was struggling to explain something. He was so fucking stupid. He was just burdening everyone with his voice. If only he didn’t fucking stutter like some pathetic little kid.

“Excuse me,” Rick narrowed his eyes at Jerry, an incredulous look on his face. “But, what the actual crap?”

Jerry’s mouth dropped open in offense. “I beg your pardon?” He rose his voice.

Rick scoffed, rolling his eyes. “Are you really gonna treat him like that?” He asked, gesturing to Morty, who stared back at him with wide, pleading eyes. Morty felt his heart begin to race with fear. He almost couldn’t believe Rick was going this. He shook his head, trying to tell him to stop, but the older teen didn’t even look at him.

“Who do you think you fucking are?” Jerry growled. “Get the hell out of my house.”

“Jerry!” Beth scolded, but it went unheard by both Rick and Jerry.

“You know he can’t help his stutter, right?” Rick went on, glaring at Jerry intently. He completely ignored his command for him to leave. “It’s out of his control. And he was only stuttering that much because he was nervous about telling you something. Maybe you should be a little more patient with him. If you did, maybe you see how awesome he really is.”

Morty blushed despite wishing he was anywhere in the world but here. Did Rick really think he was awesome?

Jerry stood from the table. “Why you little—“

“Oh my _God,_ Dad, just stop!” Summer yelled from across the table, setting her phone down. “You’re being irrational! Rick is right. You’re being an asshole.”

Jerry glared her, clenching his jaw. “You’re not allowed to back talk me, young lady. Apologize. Now.”

Summer scoffed incredulously. “Really?” She asked with a sarcastic tone. “You want _me_ to apologize for _defending_ my brother when you step out of line? No way.”

 

“You’re one to talk...” Rick muttered under his breath.

 

Summer shot him a glare. “Shut the fuck up, Rick, nobody asked you.”

“I’m not fucking wrong, though, am I Summer?” Rick glared back, crossing his arms over his chest and slumping in his chair. “You’re a goddamn hypocrite. Like, not even 100% a hypocrite. More like 10000%, you bitch.”

Summer’s glared softened only slightly. “Why don’t you just go suck Morty’s dick and get it over with already, Rick.” She spat. “We both know that’s all you wanna do.”

Morty’s mouth fell open. “W-wh...” He couldn’t even finish the sentence, too conscious of his stutter, and throughly embarrassed that this conversation even existed.

“I thought you wanted me to eat your pussy, Summer.” Rick ground out harshly, his face growing red from anger. “It’s too bad I’d probably vomit the second I saw it—“

“ALRIGHT! That’s enough!” Beth shouted, glaring at everyone at the table. “Everyone just take a chill-pill, geez. What’s gotten into you guys? We were just having a pleasant family dinner, plus Rick of course, and then it all exploded in our faces!”

“See?” Jerry pointed at Rick. “His presence set everything off, Beth, it’s his fault—“

 

“Jerry, so help me if you don’t shut up, I’m going to make you myself!” Beth snapped at him through clenched teeth.

Jerry shrunk back immediately, slowly sitting back down in his seat.

Beth took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then slowly released it. “Okay. So, Rick.” She said, and the blue haired teen only hummed in response, too angry to come up with the proper response. “I would like to... _apologize_ for you having to see this, and be a part of it.”

 

Rick huffed, standing from his spot, a mostly empty plate in his hand. “The lasagna was delicious, Mrs. Smith.” He said, completely changing the subject. “On a different note, however, there’s a carnival in town this week, and tomorrow is the last day. I want to take Morty, along with Brandon and Sam, to go to it, if you don’t mind.”

Beth seemed to brighten up at the change of subject, but Morty felt almost dizzy with how quickly everything in the room shifted. Of course, Summer and Jerry were still both fuming, hence forth keeping the tension in the air alive, but Rick and Beth were literally talking about a carnival in the middle of it all. 

“Oh, of course he can go.” Beth said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “How much money will he be needing?”

Rick shook his head. “I’ll cover it for him, but thank you.” He began walking towards the kitchen. “Once again, the lasagna was absolutely delicious.” He reiterated as he disappeared through the door.

Morty quickly scrambled with his plate and followed Rick. He’d only taken three our four bites, but his appetite had been ruined long before he’d even gotten dinner.

He scrapped his plate off in the trash as Rick placed his own in the sink.

Rick then turned to Morty. “What would be a good time to pick you up tomorrow?” He asked, leaning against the counter.

Morty opened his mouth to answer, but found that the words were stuck in his throat. So instead, he snapped his mouth shut, looked down at the floor, and shrugged. He scuffed his shoe into the ground, feeling very self-conscious all of a sudden. He knew it was because of what his dad said, and he also knew that Rick didn’t actually mind his stutter all that much, but... he couldn’t bring himself to speak at the moment.

“Morty?” Rick questioned, still leaning against the counter nonchalantly. He had his arms crossed over his chest in a relaxed manner.

Morty rubbed his arm unconsciously, looking in a different direction. He felt ashamed of himself for acting this way. He was so stupid.

“Morty...?” Rick asked again, unfolding his arms and grabbing Morty’s arm gently. “You not gonna talk?”

Morty shook his head.

Rick sighed. “Morty, c’mon.” He whispered, remembering that Morty’s entire family was in the next room over. He could hear them quietly talking amongst themselves. “Don’t take what your dad said to heart. Your stutter’s just fine. It’s kinda cute sometimes, y’know. Just say something, please?” He pulled the brunette a little closer, smiling encouragingly.

 

Morty blushed. “S-something.” He said, chuckling lightly.

Rick laughed, a smile blooming on his face. “Haha, very funny.” He said, rolling his eyes playfully. “So, I’m gonna get going, alright?” He said. He was still holding on to Morty’s arm, gently running his thumb along his soft skin.

“O-okay.” Morty nodded. “But... how are you gonna get home?”

 

Rick shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time I had to walk home.”

“I-I could ask my mom to drive you.” Morty suggested.

“Nah, I don’t wanna cause any more trouble than I already have.” Rick shook his head. “How does ten o’clock sound?”

Morty thought for a moment before shrugging. “S-sounds like a good time for me, I just, um...” He paused for a moment, biting his lip. “I really don’t want you to have to p-pay for everything.”

“Don’t even worry about it.” Rick waved him off. “I-I have like plenty of money, I promise.”

That still didn’t make Morty feel any better, but he nodded anyway. “If y-you say so...” He said.

Morty led Rick back into the dining room, where everyone said goodbye. Beth told him to swing by anytime, while Jerry grumble.

Rick gave Morty a quick hug, and then left.

Morty watched him walk down the drive way before retreated back into the house and headed up to his room for the night.

 

Morty really. _Really._ Liked Rick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading! I hope you enjoyed!


	10. Ring of Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carnival time! Whoo!
> 
> (Low-key most of this chapter was inspired by the fact that I actually went to a carnival a while back lol)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I still have a lot planned for this story, so don’t worry about It dying anytime soon lol. It just takes forever to write because 1: I’m lazy as hell and 2: I have school & family stuff I gotta do. Also, band stuff, so yeah. I hope you guys don’t mind the wait all that much, and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

 

Morty woke up at 7:30AM, according to the digital alarm clock on his desk.

With a small, sleepy groan, he rolled over on his bed and blearily reached for his phone, which was on his side table. It took him a few tries to grab it. He hadn’t so much as even looked at his phone since the party, and he felt he should check it. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t have very many notifications, but he still wanted to see what all of his favorite YouTubers had posted recently. He’d at the very least have five videos to catch up on.

The brightness was all the way up, and when he turned it on, he had to momentarily shield his eyes. He quickly swiped his thumb up to bring up the settings and turned the brightness all the way down.

The first thing he checked was the battery percentage, as it hadn’t been hooked up to a charger this entire time. It was at 9%. Geez, he really had to get that fixed before the phone died on him.

And that’s when he noticed the _hundreds_ of fucking notifications on his phone. He blinked a few times, wondering if he was hallucinating. He never really got notifications, unless it was from one of his games or YouTube.

He scrolled to the very bottom of them to start reading them from the beginning.

 

 

_**Summer: Morty! Get your ass back over here!** _

__

_**Summer: MORTY SMITH!** _

__

_**Summer: bro, where the hell did you go?!** _

__

_**Summer: didnyou really leave with Rick, you jerk?!** _

__

_**Summer: why would you do that?!** _

__

_**~2 missed calls from Summer Smith~** _

 

_**Summer: answer your phone!** _

__

_**Summer: I’m going to kill you if I ever see you again!** _

 

_**Summer: well, not literally! But I’m going to kill you!** _

__

_**~12 missed calls from Summer Smith~** _

__

_**Summer: Morty.** _

__

_**Summer: cmon, youre starting to freak me out a little.** _

__

_**~2 missed calls from Summer Smith~** _

__

_**Summer: do you want me to apologize or something?** _

 

_**~1 missed call from Summer Smith~** _

__

_**Summer: I’m sorry.** _

__

_**Summer: is that what you want me to say?** _

__

_**~1 missed call from Summer Smith~** _

__

_**Summer: Fine.** _

__

_**Summer: Don’t answer me asshole. I didn’t mean the apology anyway. You can go burn in Hell for all I care you little shit.** _

__

 

Morty put his phone down for a moment, rubbing his temples in frustration. “G-Geez, Summer...” He mumbled to himself as he picked his phone back up to continue looking at his notifications. Summer sure did have one hell of a temper.

He paused when he noticed the rest of his notifications were from Instagram. The first one was notifying him that Squanchy was following him, and that he was tagged in a post. He quickly opened up the notification and he was taken to a photo.

It was of him and Rick both staring up at the pizza that had been stuck to the ceiling. Morty stared at it with wide eyes, blinking repeatedly, once again wondering if he was hallucinating. He even rubbed at his eyes, trying to get himself to see straight, but he already was. He was glad to see that their hands were out of the frame, covering up the fact that they were holding hands at that moment, but that still didn’t change the fact that he was in this picture in the first place!

He went to check the rest of his notifications, finding that many,  _many,_ more people were now following him— at least forty more than he’d had before— and he had various likes and comments on his few photos, most of them either being complements or questions about how he knew Rick, Bird, or Squanchy.

Morty dropped his phone on his bed and buried his face into his pillow. He wanted to scream. How was that even possible? He groaned loudly into his pillow before sitting up again and going to his messages. He opened his and Rick’s chat.

 

 

_**Morty: Sam posted a picture.** _

__

 

He waited patiently for Rick to answer and he was surprised to see him respond almost immediately. He would’ve thought Rick would still be asleep at this time in the morning, based on how he’d acted yesterday when Bird woke them up.

 

 

_**Rick: Yea. I see that. What about it?** _

__

_**Morty: I went from 22 followers to 65 over night. Allbecahse I was in that photo. Wtf.** _

_**Morty: *All because** _

__

_**Rick: oh damn.** _

__

_**Morty: what am i supposed to do?** _

 

_**Rick: idk. It’s not a bad thing to have followers. I mean I have like over 1000. It’s not so bad.** _

__

_**Morty: maybe for you! I don’t want that many followers! I was planning on deleting my account anyway.** _

__

_**Rick: what No! Don’t delete it! Why would you want to do that?** _

__

_**Morty: I hardly use Instagram and my photos are just bad. I’m gonna delete my Instagram. We’ll exchange numbers later so we can still text if you want. Just wanted to tell you in case you tried to text me** _

 

_**Rick: No! Morty chill alright. I like your photos. I actually wish you would post more. When I first followed you I actually wondered why you didn’t have more things posted.** _

__

_**Morty: I don’t post things because I don’t have anything to post! And anything that I could post just looks stupid!** _

__

_**Rick: Morty please don’t delete your account.** _

__

 

Morty sighed. He didn’t know why, but he was gonna listen to Rick.

 

 

_**Morty: fine, I won’t...** _

__

_**Morty: did you make it home okay last night?** _

__

_**Rick: yea. It was a pretty boring walk tbh. The stars looked nice. Still up for the carnival later?** _

__

_**Morty: yeah, I still feel bad about the money though. At least let me pay for the ticket to get in? Please?** _

__

_**Rick: lolol you’re not getting off that easy. I already said I’d pay for everything. I have like a ton of money saved up anyway.** _

 

_**Morty: :( you’re making this really complicated** _

__

_**Rick: haha, yeah. But it feels good to spend money on you ;)** _

__

 

Morty buried his face in his pillow, flustered for the billionth time. God, how the fuck did Rick do that so easily to him? He’d have to get revenge eventually so he knew what it felt like to almost constantly be flustered around someone. He felt like his cheeks were permanently red sometimes. He’d have to get him back. He just had to figure out how to flirt.

 

 

_**Rick: sorry to cut the convo short. My dad’s making me do something. Cya at 10.** _

__

_**Morty: okay, see you.** _

__

 

Morty exited the chat and went back to his notifications to look through them. He’d gotten several more followers already, and he’d only been texting Rick for about five minutes. He rolled over onto his back and went back to his profile.

It was just how he’d left it. Random pictures of the sky, and one dumb selfie. Except, now he had 72 followers instead of just 12, and many people had liked and commented on his photos.

He wished he’d made his account private, or something, but it was kind of too late now.

He hooked his phone up to his charger and curled up under his covers once again. He still had more time to sleep. Maybe it would help him forget that his Instagram was blowing up like crazy.

 

 

* * *

 

Morty was still rubbing his tired eyes as he ate his breakfast a couple of hours later. He was sitting in the living room watching TV with Summer. She hadn’t spoken to him and Morty hadn’t said anything either.

She was laying on her back on the couch, knees up in the air and her phone above her face. Morty sat in his dad’s rocking chair, ignoring her. _Steven Universe_ was playing, and Morty’s focus was fully on it.

In this episode, Steven, the main character, was trying to take his friend, Connie, to see a movie called _Dog-Copter._ But it wasn’t exactly going as planned.

He was so focused on the show that he’d forgotten about his cereal, which he had a spoonful of hovering above his bowl, dripping milk.

 

Summer suddenly laughed, pulling Morty’s attention away from the TV. “Bro, you gonna eat that spoonful anytime soon?” She asked.

Morty looked down at his cereal. “Oh.” He said, shoving the spoonful into his mouth. “I jus’ ‘erlly like d-dis show.” He spoke with his mouth full. He took a moment to chew and swallow. “Got distracted.” He shrugged.

“Why?” She asked. “Because they’re all gay for each other?” Summer snickered, setting her phone down on the couch and sitting up. She looked at Morty with an almost overjoyed grin, like a shark thinking about how delicious their prey was going to be.

Morty frowned at her for a moment before looking back at the TV. “Summer, I-I’m not in the mood for this today.” It’s like she had a thing for calling him gay. It was annoying, and she always did it. Morty sometimes wondered if she spied on him, or something, because he had never done anything to indicate that he was ‘gay’ with her watching. Heck, the most he’d done was kiss Rick in the privacy of his own room and occasionally admire some hot guy at school for like two seconds.

Summer scoffed, obviously offended. “I’m not trying to start anything, you weirdo. Just trying to make conversation.”

Morty sighed. He was tired of this. He was tired of hiding and pretending he was someone he wasn’t. He was tired of Summer always trying to get him to admit something he wasn’t ready to admit. “Summer.” He said, turning to her with a very serious look on his face. He might as well just clear the air with Summer already. He’d already come out to Rick, and that’s what was giving him the courage to do this. He’s definitely not ready to announce it to the world, but he could tell Summer. “I’m not gay. I’m bisexual. I like b-both girls and guys.”

Summer’s eyes widened, a completely shocked look on her face. Morty couldn’t blame her. He always denied the fact that he liked boys as well as girls when she tired to get the truth out of him. “Did... did you just come out to me?”

Morty stared at her for a moment before standing and leaving the living room without an explanation. He sat in the dining room to finish his cereal.

Summer quickly scrambled to follow him into the dining room. “Morty! You just came out to me!” She practically screeched, still looking absolutely bewildered.

Morty stood from his spot and walked into the kitchen, chugging the remaining milk in his bowl and placing it in the sink. “I know, Summer.” He said. Why was she _still_  following him? “Y-you always act so suggestive about who you think I am. I-It’s almost like you wanted to force me to come out, which kinda hurts sometimes, by the way. But now I’m out, so stop trying to push me. And don’t spread the word around, even though I don’t really trust that you _won’t_ do that.”

“Morty, why would I spread it around?” Summer crossed her arms. Morty tried to leave the kitchen but Summer blocked his exit.

Morty glared up at her. “Let me out of the kitchen, Summer.” He tried to move around her.

Summer moved to block him again, holding her arm out. “No! Not until we talk about this.” She said, glaring back at him. “Why would I spread something like this around? You just came out to me! That’s a big thing!”

Morty scoffed, rolling his eyes. He just wanted to go to his room. He still had to change out of his pajamas, and Rick would probably be here soon. “Why w-would you care about wether or not it’s a big thing to me? You never care!” He gently shoved Summer out of the way and walked past her. “Don’t start caring now...” He muttered. She didn’t care every time he came home beat up. She didn’t care when Morty was crying. She didn’t care when she hurt Morty’s feelings— didn’t care when she ripped his heart into shreds and made him hate himself.

“...Don’t start caring now, Summer...” He whispered under his breath again, almost absentmindedly.

Summer grabbed his arm. “Have you come out to anyone else?” She asked.

Morty stared at her. “Yes.” He said, being honest. He didn’t know why, though. Maybe it was because he felt confident today. “And I don’t want to talk a-a-about this anymore, because the p-person I told was Rick, and I know you hate that we’re friends, so just screw off already.” He yanked his arm out of Summer’s hold and started making his way up the stairs as she watched him with a confused look on her face.

“Are you and Rick a thing?!” She hollered up to him.

 

“No? Yes? Things are complicated with us!” Morty yelled back in a questioning tone, throwing his hands up in the air to exaggerate his words. It was both to confuse Summer and to express his own confusion. He knew that they were just friends for right now, but there was still something there between them that definitely made them more than friends.

He was still very uncertain as to what the hell he was to Rick and what Rick was to him, but at least he kind of knew where their relationship sort of stood. It was in the grey zone between the friend zone and the relationship zone. Not quite friends but not quite dating.

He... wanted to lean more towards friends, though. At the moment, at least.

He disappeared through his bedroom door before Summer could say anything in response. He sighed as he leaned against the door. He literally just came out to Summer! Why did he do that? He ran a hand through his hair anxiously. It felt liberating! But terrifying... _holy shit._

He took a moment to gain his composure before he stood up straight and walked over to his closet. He changed into a pair of blue jeans and a grey t-shirt. After a moment of contemplation, he also threw on a thin, blue plaid jacket. It was kind of cold outside, so wearing a jacket would probably be a good idea, even if the jacket was pretty thin. It was probably good enough for this weather.

He’d bought this jacket about a year ago and still had yet to wear it, thinking that maybe it didn’t really suit him. He didn’t know why, but he just kinda felt like maybe it would be alright to wear it today.

He rolled the sleeves up to his elbows, using the buttons to keep it in place. He began to wonder what Rick would think of his clothes, but he quickly shoved those thoughts into the back of his mind. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t one to wear flashy clothing anyway, and in all honest... this wasn’t even all that flashy to begin with.

He sat down on the edge of his bed and picked up his phone, which was now fully charged. He had a bunch more notifications for Instagram. He sighed. He just... _really_ wanted to delete his account. He wasn’t a very extroverted person, and just thinking about how all these random people were following him online was kind of freaking him out.

 

He quickly scrolled through the notifications, checking to see if any of them were important. He stopped on one that caught his attention. It was from... Jessica? What the actual fuck?

Curiously, he opened the notification. It was a chat request. He accepted, wanting to know why the hell Jessica would want to talk to him. He definitely hadn’t forgotten what she’d done to him, but he was just so damn curious.

 

 

_**Jessica: Hey Morty :)** _

__

 

That was all she said.

Morty frowned at the message, deciding to ignore it. He didn’t want to have a repeat of last year. He’d already had that happen to him _this_ year, even if it had been with a different person. He checked his and Rick’s chat to see if he’d texted. He hadn’t.

 

 

_**Jessica: so, how’s it going?** _

 

 

Morty once again dismissed her text message. He pulled up Netflix and continued watching _Supernatural_. He hadn’t watched it in a couple of days. He sat comfortably on his bed, completely absorbed in the show. He watched about three episodes before he heard the doorbell ring downstairs.

 

He closed out of Netflix and shoved his phone into his pocket as he made his way down the stairs and to the front door. He opened the door, not surprised to see Rick.

The older teen was wearing blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and a black jacket. “Hey.” He said. “Ready to go?”

Morty nodded, admiring Rick’s choice of clothing. The black jacket suited him. “Y-yeah, lets go.” He said. Before he could walk out the door, however, he felt a hand land on his shoulder, and he squeaked, flinching from the unexpected sensation.

Rick looked at the person who’d grabbed his shoulder with something akin to disgust, and Morty understood why when he turned to see Summer standing behind him.

“U-um, Summer...?” Morty asked quietly, staring up at her.

Morty felt her hand tighten on his shoulder as she looked back at him, and the brunette felt like he was a cat and Summer was holding onto the scruff of his neck. “Have fun at the carnival, Morty.” Was all she said, giving him a very noticeably strained smile before releasing him and heading back into the house. She closed the front door behind her.

Morty stared at the wooden door for a moment, completely lost as to what had just happened.

“What w-was that all about?” Rick questioned, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“I-I... I don’t have a clue.” Morty said, turning to look at Rick. “I mean, I-I came out to her this morning, so... other than that, it’s been a pretty normal morning. I-I don’t know why she was acting so weird just now.”

Rick rose a brow as they both began walking down the driveway. “You came out to her? How’d that go?”

Morty shrugged, shoving his hands into his own pockets. “S-s-she’s a supporter w-when it comes to the LGBTQ community, so it kind of went well.” He explained. “B-but... then she asked if I had come out to anyone else... and I told the truth... and she asked me if you and I were a thing... and I sort of just left at that point...” Morty trailed off, scratching the back of his head as they stopped in front of Rick’s car.

Rick laughed, sliding into the driver’s seat while Morty got into the passenger’s seat. “You j-just up and left like that? Geez, Morty, did you get flustered thinking about me?” He teased, grinning playfully at the brunette.

Morty laughed awkwardly, a light pink tint to his cheeks. “I-I’m gonna knock your ego down a few pedestals, Rick, because that’s not the reason I left. I sort of just screamed something along the lines of, _‘Yes? No? It’s complicated!_ ’ and then just went into m-my room before Summer could say anything else.”

“Ha, that’ll leave her guessing for a while.” Rick laughed, staring up the car and driving down the the street.

Rick turned on the radio, and _Chelsea Dagger_ by _The Fratellis_ started playing from the beginning, and Morty smiled wide. He couldn’t help but start singing along with the ‘da da do’ chorus at the beginning. He’d always enjoyed this song. The beat was happy, and the lyrics were fun. When the first verse came along, he sang with it. _“Well, you must be a girl with shoes like that— She said, "You know me well"— I seen you and little Steven and Joanna—‘ Round the back of my hotel, oh yeah..._ ” He’d noticed a long time ago that when he memorized the lyrics to a song, he didn’t stutter at all when singing along with it.

Rick laughed, glancing at Morty from the corner of his eyes as he drove. He started singing with Morty.

Rick already knew his own singing voice was good, and he thought that Morty wasn’t so bad himself. Sure, he was off key every once in a while, showing how unpracticed he was, but he had some real potential. He watched the brunette laughed, continuing to smile as they both sang along.

They both shared a quick glance at each other, wide smiles on their faces as they continued to sing. Morty was holding an ‘invisible mic’ in his hand. Rick was kind of surprised by Morty’s confidence when it came to this at the moment. Even yesterday while they were cleaning, when a good song came on, the brunette seemed too anxious to sing along, or even dance. It was just Rick and Squanchy acting like a couple of goofs, using brooms and other household items as mics as they danced around and sang, sliding across the hardwood floors in their socks.

Morty’d seemed pretty entertained by it, too, which had kept Rick going along with it. He loved seeing Morty smile, and he felt like he’d hit a jackpot seeing him acting like this right now.

 

Rick sang a couple of verses by himself. He didn’t know why Morty stopped singing, but he kept going in hopes that the brunette would join back in an sing with him. It was fun. He glanced at Morty to check on him and caught the other teen staring at him in awe. “Y-you’re really good at singing!” He said over the music before he jumped back into singing himself. Rick was too busy laughing to sing the next few verses with him.

They both joined in on the last few lines, singing loudly and almost carelessly, too caught up in the fun of it. And when the song fizzled out, it was silent for a solid two seconds before the two of them bursted into laughter. When the next song came on, Rick turned the radio down so the two of them could talk.

“That was a-a-awesome!” Morty said, laughing. “I haven’t heard that song in, like, a year!”

“Really?” Rick asked, surprised. He had a cocky smirk on his face. “Well, you remembered the lyrics pretty well. And your singing is pretty good.”

Morty shrugged. “I-it’s hard to forget a good song.” He said. “And... you’re a really good singer, Rick. Definitely better than me. Aren’t you in a band, or something?” Rick was probably just saying his singing was good. He knew, for a fact, that it was terrible. Not that it ever bothered him, but he knew he wasn’t any good.

 

Rick laughed, nodding. “Y-yeah, kinda.” He said. “Sam, Brandon, and I wrote a few songs. I’m the main guitarist and singer.” He then grinned, glancing at Morty from the corner of his eyes. “Would you like to go to one of our concerts some time? They’re not very big, we like to keep it on the down-low most of the time.”

Morty laughed, smiling at Rick as a plan hatched in his head. “How could I say no when you’ve got a voice like that?”

The older teen chuckled. Morty could see a very faint blush on his cheeks, and he internally did a victory dance. Rick flustered him all the time, so maybe it was Morty’s turn to fluster Rick a little bit. He didn’t know what the heck it was, but he felt pretty damn playful today.

“Are you trying to out-flirt me now?” Rick grinned at him. “‘Cause I promise I’ll win, I-if you wanna make it a game.”

Morty laughed. Yep, Rick could still easily fluster him, and he was probably right. Rick knew how to flirt; he’d been doing it for at least several years with a bunch of different girls. Morty, however, had zero experience when it came to that department. But damn it, if he didn’t try. “W-w-we’ll see about that, Rick.” He said.

“Oh? Is that a challenge I hear?” Rick rose a brow at the brunette, a sly smirk on his face.

Morty felt heat rush to his cheeks. God, he felt like the literal definition of a blushing virgin. He felt his hands start to sweat nervously, like he was getting stage fight or something. God, why did he have to be like this? If he could only handle a small amount of flirting before he became super embarrassed and flustered, how could he ever handle anything past this?

Rick was experienced when it came to this kind of stuff. He’d had sex with people, he’d done the flirting and the dates and so much more. And here was Morty, with pretty much no experience. The furthest he’d gone was kissing, and that was hardly anything at all, especially how both times it only ended it Morty pushing away. All he ever did was push away and hide.

How could Rick like him when he didn’t know how these kinds of things even worked? He felt stupid for not knowing these things when practically everyone else knew everything about it. Everyone his age (that he knew of, at least) had at least some kind of dating or sexual experience.

But it also wasn’t even like they were dating. They were just friends, and he knew Rick wanted it to be more, but Morty was still just so afraid of going any deeper down the rabbit hole than they already were. He was being patient, even if his patience might not even amount to anything in the end, and Morty felt like he was significantly holding Rick back. It would be impossible for Morty to ever keep up with him, so he just... he still didn’t understand why Rick chose _him,_ of all people to like. He had so many better options out there.

Rick glanced at Morty with a weird look after he didn’t respond. “You alright, Morty?” He asked, seeming to immediately switch gears.

“What?” Morty furrowed his brow. How had Rick picked up on his shift in mood so quickly? “Um, y-yeah, I’m okay. Just... it’s nothing...”

“Aw, c’mon, what’s up?” Rick urged. “You can talk to me, you know.”

“I-I know.” Morty said, frowning to himself. “Just— well... it’s just stupid.” He fidgeted with his hands nervously and bit his lip.

“Try me.” Rick said, sounding serious.

Morty glanced up at him for a second. He cleared his throat nervously. “Uhm, well... R-Rick...” He started, not sure how he was supposed to word his thoughts without making it sound super weird. “So... y-y-you know I’m like... uh... fuck, how do I even say this?” He paused, rubbing his at his eyes with his hands as he struggled to think. “I l-literally have no experience w-with this...”

“With... what?” Rick asked, confused. “Flirting?”

Morty didn’t say anything in response to that. He didn’t know how to respond. Yes, he didn’t have experience flirting. He also didn’t have any experience with anything else like that.

“You’ve never e-even flirted with someone before? Wow.” Rick said, an expression on his face that Morty just couldn’t quite read. “Come on, kid, I mean... I can’t be the first person you’ve done any of this stuff with. You’ve got to have flirted at least a couple of times.”

Morty shook his head, feeling embarrassed. “No... n-not really.” He said in defeat. Rick was the first person who even wanted to _try_ to flirt with him. And kiss him... and hold hands with him... “I did ask Jessica out once, b-b-but I don’t think that counts.” He let that one slip by accident. Fuck, how was he supposed to even explain that whole thing? Every time he tried to explain it to someone, they always took Jessica’s side and didn’t believe Morty.

Rick furrowed his brow in thought. “Wait...” His eyes widened. “You were _that_ guy? From last year? The one that asked Jess out to the Flu Season Dance?”

Morty nodded glumly, shrinking in on himself slightly. He felt like this conversation was now weird, because not only had Rick screwed Jessica at some point, but Morty had asked her out last year. _And_ Brad, one of Morty’s biggest bullies, had _dates_ her. He had no clue if they were still dating, but it didn’t change how weird the situation was.

“Wow, geez,” The blue-haired teen laughed, amused by the thought. He shook his head almost in disbelief. “Everyone said you were this huge pervert—“

 

“I wasn’t!” Morty cut him off harshly, practically grinding his teeth. He was tired of everyone thinking that. It was like being sent to prison for something you didn’t even do, and then constantly being accused and called out for it. “I didn’t do anything but ask her out, and then she called me gross and spread rumors about me. I never even came within a f-five— a five-foot radius of her... a-and I didn’t say anything that w-would have been considered inappropriate or perverted.”

He left it unsaid that it was part of the reason why he struggled so much with everything that had to do with... their current relationship. He didn’t want a repeat of last year. And Rick had caused that repeat to somewhat happen already, by spreading rumors with those three girls he’d been taking to.

He was just glad Rick had the decency to fix what he’d done and make up for it. He was the first person to ever do something like that for Morty, and that’s why he forgave him. But that didn’t mean he’d forget about it, and it didn’t mean his doubts, slight paranoia, and anxieties would just up and vanish. He still felt as if he was out of place, and a part of him still wanted to wiggle his way out of the situation.

He didn’t want to hurt himself, Rick, or Summer, and he felt that the more he allowed himself to enjoy Rick’s company, the more likely it was for them to get hurt. He already hurt Summer... and she was probably never going to forgive him... and now he was probably heading straight down a path that was going to hurt one or both of them.

Sure, Rick said he liked him, but he just didn’t understand _why._ And Morty... _really_ liked Rick back. He was so nice to him, and he was kind, and smart, and confident, and handsome— Morty mentally kicked himself to halt his thoughts. He needed to stop thinking about that.

“Chill out, Morty.” Rick said, rolling his eyes. “I was gonna say that e-everyone _said_  that you were this huge pervert, but I literally can’t imagine you ever being like that. I didn’t even know it was you! I just knew it was some guy. Jessica’s gotta be one mean bitch if she’s gonna call a sweet kid like you a perv. I mean, how did you even ask her out? I bet you were all sweet and stuff.”

It was hilarious to Morty that Rick hadn’t even known who the supposed ‘culprit’ was, even when a majority of the school did. He was either hated or invisible— that’s how Morty had lived his life thus far. That’s why some of this stuff was so confusing to him.

And he couldn’t help but cringe as the memory of asking Jessica out come rising to the forefront of his mind, and he face-palmed. He was cringing so hard that he didn’t even feel flustered by the complements Rick gave him. “Aw geez, it was so terrible.” He groaned. “She was t-talking with a few of her friends in the hallway, a-and I had this stupid rose that I’d... I’d stolen from someone’s garden—“

Rick cut him off with a laugh. “You stole a rose? If it wasn’t stolen, I-I would have called you a gentleman.”

Morty groaned again, shaking his head. “I-It was just sorta there... in someones garden... and I wanted to at least try to be romantic, so I spontaneously d-decided to steal it because it was a spur of the moment decision to ask her out, and I didn’t have any time to buy something.” He explained, still cringing at himself. He also hadn’t had the money to. He couldn’t get a job because he didn’t have a car, or even a drivers license, yet. Fuck, he was a month away from being sixteen and he still didn’t have a permit. And it’s not like his family would ever lend him money unless it was for school stuff.

“I-it was so stupid. I-I just walked up to her, and she and all her friends just stared at me for a moment l-l-like I was being disrespectful f-f-for even showing my face to them. Ugh, it was awful.” He ran a hand through his hair nervously, messing up the curls on his head without noticing. “I asked her to go to the dance with me, a-a-and I held out the flower... and she just— she smacked it out of my hand and said, _‘Ew, no, why would I go with a gross little kid like you?’_ I-I was so embarrassed...”

Rick hissed through his teeth. “Ouch, that m-must’ve strung for a while.”

“Yeah... b-b-but it was the bullying and the rumors that hurt more than the rejection itself.” Morty shrugged, playing with one of the buttons on his blue-plaid jacket as he furrowed his brow in thought. “I-I never fully expected her to say yes, but I figured it was worth a try. I-I would have been fine if she simply pulled me to the side and said no. But she didn’t do that. She announced it to the world and added a f-few false details of her own.” He scoffed.

“Do you still like her?” Rick asked in an almost bitter tone. He quickly covered it up by coughing into his arm, though.

“What? No!” Morty sent Rick an incredulous look. He was almost offended that he would even ask something like that. Jessica wasn’t someone he’d ever even consider dating after what she did. “W-w-why would I still like her? S-She made my entire freshman year suck. I-I mean, you saw how bad it already is this year... y-y-you literally had to save me from someone who was holding a _knife_  to my throat. J-just imagine that, times two. And that was m-my freshman year...”

Last year had literally been a nightmare for him. He had no friends or acquaintances, Summer kept accusing him of being a perv along with everyone else, the bullying had been near-constant, and he had almost failed all of his classes because he’d been completely distracted by everything. He’d also been depressed to the point that he’d been so tried all the time that he didn’t ever want to do anything. He’d even considered a few times wether or not life was worth it— he’d never tried to kill himself, but he’d definitely wondered what it would be like if he’d never existed at all.

 

He’s not sure entirely how he did it, but he managed to break out of that shell a whole bunch durning the summertime, and he’s not nearly as depressed as he used to be. He still felt pain, but he’d somehow managed to cope with it. He hated himself but he sure as hell still wanted to see where his life was heading.

 

As they stopped at a red light, Rick looked over at him with his brows furrowed. “I-I wish I’d met you sooner, because then you wouldn’t have had to go through all of that.”

Morty smiled a Rick warmly. He wished he’d met Rick sooner as well, but he was also glad that Rick hadn’t had to see what a mess he’d been last year. “Well, I-I’m glad we know each other now.”

 

 

* * *

 

As they got close to the carnival, Morty could see a Ferris Wheel from a distance through some trees, and he pressed his nose up against the glass window to get a better look at it, much to Rick’s amusement. He’d only been to a carnival small handful and of times, and it had all been when he was way younger— he’d been too short to even ride most of the rides.

But from what he did remember of the rides he had been able to go on, he’d enjoyed every last minute of them. Even the free fall, of which he distinctly remembered caused his father to throw up once they got off, and for Summer to cry and refuse to go on anymore rides. It had apparently terrified her far too much.

Morty had cried, then, too, because his mom made everyone go home after that. He’d only been about six or seven years old at the time, so it was understandable that he threw such a huge fit over it. They hadn’t been back to the carnival since.

Cars were all lined up in the parking lot, and there were barely any spaces left. Rick kept spewing curses left and right, showing off the rode-rage side to him that Morty had yet to see until now. There hadn’t been much traffic on the way to the carnival, nor on the way to IHOP that one time.

Once they found a parking spot, they started making their way over to the ticket booth at the entrance. It was pretty far away, unfortunately, so they had to walk for a few minutes to get there as Rick kept grumbling about how annoying finding a parking space had been.

Morty just smiled and rolled his eyes, amused by Rick’s anger over something like this.

When they got to the ticket booth, they found Bird and Squanchy already waiting in line for them at the entrance. Morty watched as the pair both separately gave Rick a quick _‘bro-hug,’_ as was it is most commonly called, and when they both turned to give Morty one, he almost fainted in a panic. Somehow, he managed to do it without being super awkward. He’d seen guys do it plenty of times in both real life and in movies, and it was pretty much as simple as it looked.

They all began to converse about pointless things and screw around, as they tended to do, but Morty stayed out of most of the conversation. He’d always been more of an observer than a conversationalist due to his, apparently prior, inability to make friends. It was kind of just a habit that he noticed he was struggling to shake off.

It was weird, knowing that all three of these people thought of him as a friend of some sort. He’d managed to subconsciously convince himself that he’d never make friends, but look where he was now. At a carnival with, not one, but _three,_ friends.

He was still getting to know all of them, but... he was already starting to get somewhat attached.

Sam was optimistic and observational— that second quality had actually kind of surprised Morty, in all honesty. He always noticed when Morty tended to slip off into his own thoughts, and he would quickly recapture his attention to make sure he was included in everything. (Rick did that, too, sometimes. He practically had his attention glued to Morty half the time, and Morty couldn’t say he didn’t do the exact same thing).

Bird was still a little harder to peg. He was like the ‘mom friend,’ but he still had fun at the same time. He took care to make sure they weren’t going to get into trouble, but he still fucked around, too. He was kind and funny, and although he was still somewhat awkward around Morty, he did seem to enjoy his company.

And Rick... don’t even get Morty started on Rick. He was so many things. He was a whole flourish of colors that Morty was still trying to decipher. He instilled fear, excitement, confusion, and wonder in Morty, all at the same time. He was the first person who even remotely thought Morty was worth the time of day— the first person that wanted to get to know him and actually liked what they found out about him.

And Morty liked Rick just as much. Sure, he could be kind of mean and angry at times, and he could be downright vicious and terrifying (especially when in a fight), but he had a soft side to him. He was kind and intelligent, and he had this way about him that Morty couldn’t help but notice was different from everyone else. He oozed confident, yet it wasn’t in an arrogant way, and he was thoughtful.

Morty found it kind of odd that the main part of Rick that he’d seen was his soft side, and not the cruel side that he was all talked up to be. He’d seen it— even had it directed right at him— but not as much as he’d seen him be kind. It made him feel special.

At the ticket booth, all of them just said screw the tickets and got the bracelets. Morty protested, saying that 30$ was far too much for Rick to have to pay for him. It was just a silly bracelet. But, of course, Rick just waved him off and bought him a bracelet anyway. It gave you an all-day pass for the rides, meaning they didn’t have to buy any tickets.

Morty dragged his feet on his way onto the carnival grounds, feeling guilty, yet again, for Rick having to pay for him. He would have been fine with a few tickets— ten tickets is only five dollars, and each ride is two tickets. He would have been fine just riding a few. He didn’t need the silly bracelet.

“Oh, calm down, Morty.” Squanchy said to him, smiling. “Trust me, we’ll ride all of the rides enough times to be worth the amount we paid. It’s best to do several rounds, you know. That way, you get twice the fun! And if you really think about the math, this is actually less than what we would’ve had to pay for if we wanted to ride all of them several times.”

That had only managed to make Morty feel marginally better about the situation. He felt like he already owed Rick so much, and having him pay for basically everything made him feel guilty as hell. He had to find a way to make up for it as soon as he could.

As they started walking through the carnival grounds, the familiar smell of funnel cake, popcorn, and a very faint sent of vomit filled his nose. After all these years, he found that he still remembered this smell almost perfectly. Except for the vomit part, Morty loved how carnivals smelled— it reminded him of a better time, when he and Summer had been closer and their parents had been not only happy with their marriage, but more attentive when it came to their children’s lives.

He smiled as he walked along side Rick, his eyes darting around excitedly at all of the movement. Despite how many cars had been in the parking lot, it wasn’t too crowded here, besides a bunch of groups here and there that stayed together. Families and friends alike. He could hear excited screams from all around him, and carnival-like music, and children laughing. It was a beautiful mixture of sounds that Morty couldn’t help but enjoy.

They were currently walking through a few of the kiddie rides for little kids. It always seemed to be at the entrances of these places, as if they were intentionally trying to work you up to the larger rides.

There were a bunch of game stations, too, and they were all yelling at people and taunting them, trying to con them into playing. It reminded Morty of those advertisements that repeatedly popped up on his screen when he was on certain sights, or of those telemarketers that call a hundred times before finally giving up.

 

“You! With the blue hair!” One of them had called to Rick with a megaphone, pointing at him wildly. “How about you come try our basketball game to win a prize?! I bet you can’t do it!”

Rick rolled his eyes at him. “No thanks.”

“What about you!” He pointed at Morty next, and the brunette jumped, panicking slightly over the fact that he was actually talking to him. “You look like a chicken! Wanna prove me wrong by beating this game?!”

“Piss off, man! Leave him alone!” Squanchy yelled back, glaring daggers at the the man running the basketball game.

“He’s not a chicken, and he doesn’t have to justify himself to you!” Rick yelled as well, grabbing Morty’s hand and tugging him along. “Let’s get outta here, Morty.”

“He’s pretty chicken if he needs his friends to stand up for him!” The game manager called back, grinning as if he’d caught them in a trap with that one.

Morty felt anger rise within him, and without even thinking, he rose his free hand in his direction and flipped the guy off. “It’s pretty bad business to harass your customers, jerk!” He yelled as Rick insistently tugged him along. He still had fire burning in his veins when he turned to follow Rick instead of making him drag him along.

“Damn, Morty, repressed rage much?” Rick laughed at him, releasing his hand almost awkwardly. He was smiling at Morty with a look of surprise.

Morty instantly felt his anger zap away from him as embarrassment replaced it. He laughed uncomfortably. “U-um—I-I-what? _No_...” He stammered, denying it even though he knew it was kind of true. He _did_  tend to snap sometimes when someone was being particularly mean to himself or the others around him. “I-I... I don’t have repressed rage...”

Squanchy patted him on the back rather harshly, almost making him stumble. “Well done, Morty!” He said, waking past him to catch up with Bird, who was walking ahead of them. Rick and Morty followed closely behind them.

“You know, y-y-you’ve got some fire in you sometimes.” Rick commented, chuckling. “But you’re so quiet a majority of the time.”

Morty shrugged. “I-I guess that’s what being a loner’s all about.” He said. “I-I mean, yeah, I’m quiet, b-but I’ll stand up for myself if I need to.” He paused. “Well... unless it’s like a physical fight, b-because _then_ I’m screwed.” He laughed nervously. He’d tried fighting back in the past when his bullies tried to beat him up, but he always ended up failing. He wasn’t one that had much physical strength, unfortunately. It’s something that had always disappointed Jerry, too, when he’d tried to sign him up for multiple different sports teams that Morty just wasn’t cut out for.

Maybe if he’d actually enjoyed sports he would’ve worked harder to stay in them, but he’d never been very interested. He’d always enjoyed science, and music, and stuff like that.

Morty saw something familiar and green from the corner of his eye and he turned his head to confirm what he was seeing. It was a Peridot plushy from that _Steven Universe_ cartoon, and he stopped in his tracks, peering at it curiously for a moment.

Rick noticed him stop, and his eyes quickly darted to where Morty was looking. “What’re you lookin’ at?” He asked.

Morty stopped staring at the Peridot and shook his head. “Nothing, I-I was just looking at one of the prizes.” He waved him off, continuing to walk.

“Wait, which one?” Rick asked, seeming completely lost as he looked at all the prizes.

Morty shrugged. “Just the green one, over by the latter game.” He said. “Its a character from a show I was watching this morning.” He chuckled. “I just thought it was a funny coincidence. I-I don’t want it, or anything.” As he looked around more, he noticed that it was the _only_   _Steven Universe-_ themed item at the carnival.

“Do you wanna try to get it anyway?” Rick asked, raising a brow.

Morty shook his head. “No, I-I-it’s probably rigged anyway.”

Squanchy turned around, a big smile on his face. “Those latter games aren’t rigged!” He said excitedly. “My cousin beat it once.”

“I can confirm.” Bird said. “I was there when it happened. It was cool to see.”

“Let’s all try it at least once.” Squanchy pleaded. “C’mon, it’ll be fun! I really _really_ wanna do it! I think I can beat it this time! And the green stuffed thing can be a bonus if we win.”

Morty looked between the three friends anxiously as they stared back him expectantly. He didn’t want to be in this position— why did he have to make the decision? He didn’t even want the stuffed Peridot all that much! “I-I um...” He trailed off for a moment. “I-I dunno... it’s up to you guys...”

Rick sighed. “Let’s put it to a vote,” He said. “All in favor of playing the latter game?”

Squanchy, Bird, and Rick all raised their hands. Morty looked away awkwardly when he realized he was the only one who didn’t really want to do it, even though they were all technically doing it _for_ him. God, he probably wasn’t even going to make it halfway up the latter.

“That settles it, then!” Squanchy said, suddenly sprinting towards the latter game, leaving everyone in his dust. Morty timidly started walking towards the latter game with Rick and Bird.

When they got there, the person running it told them that one try was 5$, and Morty nearly fainted. Rick paid for himself and Morty while Squanchy and Bird paid for themselves. The goal was to climb to the top, ring the bell, and then you could get one prize.

“You see, you just gotta go super fast.” Squanchy explained his strategy, rolling up his sleeves with a cocky grin. He grabbed the third rung and put one foot on the first one. He took in a deep breath. “That way you can get to the top before the latter turns upside down and tosses you off of it.”

Squanchy started climbing up the latter as fast as he could, and not even halfway up, the latter spun around and the red-head was thrown onto the floaty beneath him. “Fuck!” He shouted, grumbling as he got off and let Bird take his place at the bottom of the latter.

He looked the latter up and down. “Maybe you have to go slowly.” He said, before starting his climb. He went slowly, just as he’d said, the latter shaking and wobbling beneath him. He got halfway before he lost his balance and fell of.

Rick was next, and he also chose the slow route, making it almost to the top. But as he reached for the bell, the balance shifted, and the latter spun upside down and he fell before he could reach it. He spewed curses to himself as he hopped off of the floaty.

 

And then it was Morty’s turn, and anxiety ceased his heart. He stood at the bottom of the latter, trying to think of some kind of strategy that might work. How was he supposed to balance on this thing? “Aw, geez...” He said to himself, uncertain as to what to do.

 

“C’mon, Morty, just do it. You can’t be any worse than Squanchy.” Rick laughed.

“Hey!” Squanchy snapped at him. “Shut up, Rick, nobody asked you!”

“I asked myself, Squanchy.” Rick snapped back playfully.

“No one cares that you asked yourself, idiot!” Squanchy glared at him.

“I’m not the idiot, _you_ are.” Rick snarked back. “I’m a _genius.”_

Morty rolled his eyes. “Shush! I’m trying to think.” He said. He focused on the latter again as Rick and Squanchy bickered quietly behind him in a hushed tone.

Something that everyone had done in common was use the rungs of the latter as they climbed up, and the more Morty thought about that fact, the more it made sense in his mind that it was very unbalanced to do that. What if...

Morty grabbed the _rope_ next to one of the rungs and placed his feet on the rope as well, completely disregarding the rungs.

He took a deep breath before moving his left hand and his right foot at the same time to start climbing. He then used his right hand and left foot at the same time to take his next step. All the while, he completely ignored the rungs. If you used them, your hands and feet weren’t equal distance apart, meaning balance was close to impossible. But, if you used the rope, there’s was an absolute guarantee that your hands and feet would be equal distance; therefor, balance was both easier and obtainable.

_Right?_ Morty was uncertain of himself, but it was worth a try... and really, everyone had failed, so... it would be okay if he failed, too. He’d have no shame from it. And he _was_ already doing better than Squanchy, so at least he wasn’t last. He doubted he’d make it much further than halfway, though.

The latter began to wobble unsteadily as he slowly repeated those actions, trying to keep himself as balanced as possible as he climbed high enough to get off of the ground.

He heard his three friends shouting words of encouragement behind him, but he ignored them in favor of focusing on what he was doing. Left hand and right foot. Right hand and left foot. He made up a slowly rhythm to his actions, focusing on doing it as precisely as he possibly could— it was the only way he could think to make things as balanced as possible. He just hoped his feet wouldn’t slip, because he kept feeling like they were about to. It was nerve-racking.

Right hand left foot. Left hand right foot. He was doing it. His heart was pounding rapidly against his ribcage, but he hardly paid any attention to it. He had to keep focused.

He hadn’t realized he’d made it to the end of the latter until there wasn’t anymore latter to climb. Before he could start panicking even more than he already was, he quickly reached for the bell and smacked it with his hand, and that’s when the whole latter flipped around and he was flung onto the floaty with a small yelp of surprise.

“You did it, Morty!” He heard Rick shout as the floaty shifted— Rick had climbed up onto it. He saw Rick appear above him, and the older teen grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to his feet.

Morty laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head as they both climbed off of the floaty. _Was he hallucinating? Or had he actually done it? He was definitely hallucinating, right?_

“That’s the second time I’ve ever seen someone beat the latter game! How’d you do it?!” Squanchy grabbed his shoulders, shaking him vehemently. Yep, this was definitely real. “Tell me!”

“Y-you just— you don’t use the rungs. Y-you use the rope. It helps with balance.” He explained, wishing that the red-head would stop shaking him.

Squanchy stared at him for a moment in thought before he suddenly lurched back into motion, shaking Morty violently once again. “Why the fuck didn’t I think of that?!” He yelled, releasing Morty and going to talk to Bird, shaking his hands in the air animatedly.

Morty blinked a few times in confusion, completely lost.

“Congratulations!” The guy running the latter game said, causing Morty to spin around and face him. “Pick a prize! Any prize!”

Morty nervously pointed at the Peridot plushy, and the man handed it over to him. He was surprised that he’d actually won! He had fully expected to fail, but he hadn’t!

As he held the Peridot plushy in his hands, he began to laugh, shaking his head. Everything had felt super weird these past couple of days.

“What’s so funny?” Rick asked, chuckling lightly at Morty’s amused expression.

“I-I don’t know, Rick, I just—“ He cut himself off with a short laugh. Why was this so amusing to him? “It’s so weird.”

Rick furrowed his brow. “What’s weird?”

He looked at the Peridot plushy. “Something wrong w-with...” He hesitated, obviously having no idea what it was. “The green thingy?”

“No,” Morty giggled, looking at the plushy with an amused smile as they all started walking again. “I-I’m just not used to any of... this.” He gestured to Rick, and to the rest of the carnival. “The last time I went to a carnival I was like... six or-or-or seven years old, and I’ve really missed it since. And the last time I went out with friends was... well, never. You’re... you’re the first friend I’ve ever had...” He said the last part almost absentmindedly, trailing off.

Rick laughed. “I thought you said you didn’t like carnivals.” He teased. He knew Morty had been lying when he’d said that.

Morty flushed even more, looking away. “T-t-that had been... a lie.” He admitted. “I-I didn’t want you to have to pay for me, so I said I didn’t like them...”

“Hey, c’mon,” Rick pushed his shoulder gently. “I’ve got plenty of money, alright? Don’t worry ‘bout it. Seriously.”

Morty still didn’t feel any better about Rick paying for him, but oh well... there wasn’t much he could do about it at the moment. Rick had already payed for his bracelet, and it would be a huge waste not to use it. “B-but, still,” Morty said, rolling his eyes. “T-thirty dollars for a _bracelet_ is a little excessive, don’t you think? I-I would have been fine with only a few tickets...”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Rick countered. “You’d only get to ride a few rides while Bird, Squanchy, and I rode all of them several times each. You’d be left out.”

Morty shrugged. He was used to being left out— it’s his natural position in life, unfortunately. He had a VIP spot in everything having to do with being left out: Third wheel, background character, sidekick, loner, outcast, and so on. “I-I wouldn’t have minded...” He said, being honest. After something happens to you so many time you start to become desensitized to it. And Morty had been ignored and left out enough times to last a lifetime. Sometimes it hurt, but it was a familiar pain... something he could handle.

“Well, I would have minded.” Rick sighed. “Just... please try to have fun with it? Don’t think about the m-money. If that’s all you think about, y-y-you’ll never get the chance to enjoy everything.”

Morty sighed. “I-If you say so, Rick...” He relented. He’d try not to think about it so much today.

Rick smiled down at him, seeming happy that he agreed. Morty couldn’t help but smile back. “T-thank you, by the way, for including me in all of this.”

“Aw, don’t thank me, Morty.” Rick said. “I’m glad to have you here with me.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Morty nervously got into the seat of the ride, sweat trailing down the side of his face. They were about to ride their first ride of the day— The _Ring of Fire._

 

It was simply a huge loop, and it was supposed to go around and around several times. Sure, Morty loved the carnival, but he’d only ever ridden the kiddie rides when he was younger. This was on a whole new level, and he literally had no clue as to what he was supposed to expect.

Rick struggled to slide into the seat next to him. It was pretty cramped, but it was safe, so... no one really complained all that much. The blue haired teen let out a sigh of relief when he finally managed to squeeze his way in next to Morty. He looked over at him. “You good, Morty?” He asked, bumping his knee into Morty’s to gain his attention.

Morty nodded almost too quickly. “Yep. J-Just f-f-f-fine.”

Rick furrowed his brow. “Are you scared?”

“Nope. D-definitely n-not.” He hadn’t realize he’d stopped breathing for a moment and had to compose himself. In and out. In and out. _Breathe_.

Rick scratched the back of his head. “Well, you know you can still get off, right? S’not too late.”

Morty shook his head. “Nope. I-I’m good.” He had to at least try it before he decided he didn’t like it. He just hoped that it was as good as he remembered the kiddie rides being when he was younger.

Rick chuckled. “If you say so.”

The girl managing the ride told everyone to raise their arms as she closed the harnesses over everyone’s chests. Morty felt like he was about to faint, and he quickly dug his nails into the fake-leather material.

“Hey.” Rick said. “Relax. It’ll be fine.”

Morty nodded, because he _knew_ that already. He couldn’t stop himself from being nervous, though.

The ride started moving forward slowly, and Morty held his breath. He could hear his heart pounding inside of his ears. He was already starting to regret this and the ride hadn’t even really started yet.

Rick placed his hand on Morty’s knee, rubbing it gently with his thumb. “These rides are fun, alright? Nothin’ to be scared of. You’ll see.”

The ride started moving backwards, but Morty hardly even noticed. He was too focused on the hand Rick had on his knee. He felt a majority of his nerves and anxiety quell as he focused on it, and he sighed a little, feeling himself relax a bit.

The ride moved forward again, going higher and faster, and then backwards again. Morty didn’t focus on it, though. He didn’t think about it. He was here to have fun, and he wasn’t going to focus on anything scary.

The ride kept moving back and forth, accelerating slowly in speed and gaining height. Morty even started to enjoy it as it got higher each time, both backwards and forwards. He felt as light as a feather each time they fell back down, and he felt adrenaline course through his veins— and it wasn’t the bad kind of adrenaline. It was the kind that gave him a thrill, the kind that felt good— like when he jumped off of the roof and into a pool with Rick.

He giggled. Why has he been so cared again? He couldn’t remember. He didn’t even noticed when Rick removed his hand to hold on to his harness as the ride started to get more intense.

The ride kept going back and forth until, _finally,_ it looped all the way around, and Morty laughed as it happened, looking down at the ground in the half second that the were completely upside down. He could hear Squanchy screaming in the background, and he looked at Rick with an amused smile as they looped around a second time, his brown hair sticking up each time they went around.

The went around the loop a whole six times before they finally started to slowly down, and for a few moments, they were left hanging completely upside down before they fell back down to the bottom. The ride went back and fourth a few more times before it finally stopped.

“That was awesome!” Morty giggled as the harnesses popped up.

Rick laughed, looking at Morty’s hair. “Geez, you should see your hair. The wind messed it all up.” He said, reaching a hand up to run his hands through it.

Morty giggled again, leaning his head slightly towards Rick so he could fix his hair. His fingers glided carefully against his scalp, pushing parts of his hair in certain directions to make it looked better. Morty tried not to think too much about the gesture. “I-I don’t even know why I was so scared! It seems to ridiculous now. It was so fun!”

Rick pulled his hand back, satisfied with how he managed to fix Morty’s hair. The two teens climbed out of the ride along with everyone else. Bird and Squanchy seemed pretty happy about the ride, too, and Bird talked about how Squanchy screamed like a girl the entire ride, and that it hurt his ears.

Squanchy tried to deny it, but Morty and Rick both confirmed that they could hear him over everyone else.

After that, Morty wasn’t scared of anymore of the rides. In fact, he was all too happy to jump right into them. He realized pretty soon that he and Rick both had the same enthusiasm when it came to the thrill adrenaline gave you, and they both looked forward to the rides that seemed to scariest. He didn’t want to call himself an adrenaline junkie— he wouldn’t go that far. But the adrenaline and thrill the rides gave him was pretty damn nice.

They did several rounds, going on every single ride. The _Free Fall,_ the _Tornado, Graviton,_ the _Tilt-a-Whirl,_ the _Round-Up_ , the _Pirate Ship_ (Rick hadn’t liked the _Pirate Ship_ all that much for some reason) the _Zipper,_ and so many others. All of them were fun and crazy, and Morty just couldn’t get enough of them. They didn’t go on the _Farris Wheel_ yet. Rick said it would be better to go on it once it got darker.

Morty’s personal favorite continued to be the _Ring of Fire_ the first one they’d gone on. He didn’t know why, but that one just... it was really something. It was like the loop on a rollercoaster, except it was also the same _only_ part of the ‘roller coaster.’

He didn’t mean to do it, but he ended up at some point dragging the others with him to go on it four times in a row. He would have kept going if Squanchy hadn’t thrown up in a nearby trashcan after the fourth time.

After that, the brunette felt horribly guilty, apologizing repeatedly for dragging him onto the ride even though Squanchy kept telling him it was fine. They took a break from the rides after that and ate lunch. Well, Squanchy struggled to eat, but he got a well-deserved break from all of the spinning and loops.

They ate funnel cake and chicken strips. It was a funny combination, but they didn’t care all that much. Food was food, and they were at a carnival. After that, the had ice cream, too, which Morty had throughly enjoyed.

They went on a few more rides, excluding Squanchy, who said he didn’t want to lose his lunch. Morty felt bad again for making him go on the _Ring of Fire_ so many times in a row... he really hadn’t meant to and nobody had said anything to him about not wanting to ride it again. Rick had been perfectly fine following Morty onto the ride, and had even been excited that Morty was excited. And Bird and Squanchy had seemed pretty happy to ride it, too... but he hadn’t known the ride had been making him feel sick.

Eventually it started to get dark, and that’s when Rick finally decided it was time to go on the _Ferris Wheel._ Morty thought the whole carnival looked so much better at night.

The lights were brighter and more colorful-looking, and it just had this _feel_ to it that you couldn’t get when it was day time. Some of the staff were handing out glow sticks to the little kids, and Morty ended up getting a glow-in-the-dark bracelet just for the hell of it.

As they got into one of the carriers for the _Farris Wheel_ Morty noticed that Squanchy and Bird didn’t get in with them. Instead, they stayed back in the line. Squanchy had a sly smirk on his face that made Morty immediately suspicious.

“What are you guys doing?” Rick asked, looking at his friends with the same suspicion Morty felt. He sat down in the seat across from Morty.

“We’re gonna take the next one.” Bird said.

“Yeah, so you two lovebirds can get some privacy.” Squanchy snickered at them.

Morty flushed bright red and looked down at his shoes.

Rick growled angrily. “How many times do I have to tell you—“

 

“That you’re not dating?” Squanchy interrupted. “Maybe you guys haven’t gotten that far, but it doesn’t mean you aren’t transparent as hell. There’s _obviously_ something goin’ on.”

“Yes, it is quite obvious.” Bird snickered quietly. “Just enjoy your time together.” They both waved as the _Ferris Wheel_ started to move and they were slowly lifted up into the air.

“They’re very persistent w-w-when it comes to... to the romantic part of your life, Rick.” Morty laughed, peering over the edge of the _Ferris Wheel_ to look down at their retreating forms.

“Yeah.” Rick laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. “I just— I think they’re just tryin’ to help? I haven’t had much luck with romance and relationships in the past year.”

Morty looked at Rick with a quizzical expression. He didn’t understand. Rick could practically get any girl he wanted— he was popular, charming, smart, and handsome. The perfect equation for getting whoever the fuck he wanted. Hell, he even got Jessica to _cheat on Brad with him,_ and those two had been an on-and-off power-couple for several _years_. How could someone like him have romance problems? “W-What do you mean?”

“I just... I’ve _had_ trouble finding the right person. I’ve dated a few people here and there. Hell, I’ve slept with plenty more, but...” He trailed off for a moment, looking off into the distance. He could see the lights of the city from here. An idea hatched in his head. “No one has really stuck out to me in a while.”

“Oh.” Morty said, deflating slightly at that. He fiddled with his hands awkwardly. He didn’t know if he was in the ‘don’t stand out’ category for Rick. Usually, that’s exactly where he belonged, and he wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t stand out to Rick like others may have. He also didn’t know if he _wanted_ to stand out to Rick. Blending in is usually what keeps him from getting into trouble.

“I mean— until you!” Rick blurted, and Morty saw his cheeks flush red. Morty felt his own face begin to heat up at his words. He cleared his throat before speaking again. “ _Until you,_  Morty. I haven’t been h-having trouble since... since I met you. And I think they kinda... they figured that out somehow, so they’re trying to play Cupid, or some shit like that.” He waved his hand like he was dismissing the conversation. “ _Anyway,”_ He said. “The reason I had us skip this ride so many times is because I wanted to wait until we could get _that_ view.” He pointed behind Morty.

Morty furrowed his brows before turning his head to look behind himself. “Woah...” He breathed in awe. He could see the city from here. The lights were bright, contrasting against the darkness around them. It looked almost magical, and Morty knew how ridiculous that thought was. “Y-you were right, Rick... I-it wouldn’t have looked this nice if we did this when the sun was still up...”

He turned back to look at Rick, and when he did, he saw him on his phone with it pointed directly at him.

Morty rose a brow. “What are you doing?” He asked.

Rick chuckled, turning his phone around for Morty to see. It was a picture of him halfway turned around and looking out towards the city. He had a small smile on his face and his eyes looked calm. It was... actually a decent picture. Morty never saw himself as photogenic, but he actually did look kind of decent in this one. “Now you have somethin’ good to post.” He said, smirking.

Morty blushed, surprised that Rick remembered what he’d said this morning about never having anything good to post on Instagram.

“Here, I’ll sent it to you so you can post it, alright?” Rick smirked, turning his phone back around so he could do just that.

Morty felt his phone buzz in his pocket and he took it out. He unlocked his phone and went to the messages. As expected, the photo was there. He saved it to his camera roll. “I-I’ll post it w-when I get home.” He said, not wanting to be on his phone while he was trying to hang out with Rick.

“You better.” Rick chuckled. “I had to time that photo _just so,_ to capture the look on your face when you saw the city from here.”

Morty laughed. “You k-know you didn’t have to go through all that trouble, right?”

Rick shrugged. “Eh, I wanted to.”

 

“Rick... thank you for taking me here with y-you guys.” Morty said, his cheek almost perpetually red. “I-I’ve really had fun t-today...”

Rick cleared his throat nervously. “Not— uh, it wasn’t a problem, Morty. I had fun today, too. Bird and Squanchy can’t seem to keep up with me w-when it comes to going on all the rides as much as I want to.”

Morty laughed at that, remembered how he accidentally made Squanchy throw up in a trash can because he went on a _Ring of Fire_ binge. “Y-yeah, I noticed. Bird stopped seeming as— as thrilled to get on the rides, and S-Squanchy... well, he barfed... I still feel bad about that... haha...”

“You really liked the _Ring of Fire_ didn’t you?” Rick laughed.

“Y-yeah! I mean... it was fun going upside down so many times.” He made a motion with his finger, drawing a circle in the air and leaning back slightly on his other hand. “And I f-felt as light as a feather when we fell down e-each time. It was like flying.”

“You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met.” Rick said randomly, looking at Morty with an almost perplexed expression.

Morty chuckled uncertainly, returning Rick’s confused look. He scratched at the back of his head for a moment before speaking. “W-What do you... what’re you talking about, Rick? I’m just the average teenager, y’know... I’m not so much different from everyone else...” He looked off to the side, wishing that the subject of the conversation would change.

“But you’re not, though,” Rick went on. He had a focused yet confused look in his gaze as he stared at Morty. “You have so much hidden underneath the surface that it’s making my head spin.”

Morty swallowed nervously. “I don’t really understand what you mean, Rick.” He admitted, embarrassed that he just couldn’t place what Rick was trying to tell him. How could _he_  be so different from everyone else? Morty wasn’t _diffrent_ different. He was just... unique in the same way that everyone else was. Rick wasn’t making any sense.

Rick sighed, leaning back as he looked away from Morty. “N-never mind. Just forget it.”

Morty furrowed his brow for a moment in frustration before he felt the emotion quickly drain from him. It didn’t matter. He could just... figure it out later. He didn’t want to ruin the moment. He just... for now, he needed to change the subject. “So, uh... I’ve had a question on my mind. How... how did you meet Sam and Brandon?”

Rick didn’t answer for a short while, but eventually he sighed and went on to explain. He met them both in middle school and had stuck with them since. He wasn’t sure exactly how they became friends, but he did know that he met them both in an english class they shared.

It was a good topic of conversation for the rest of the ride.

The _Ferris wheel_ went back down to the bottom and they got off. They had to wait a few minutes for Sam and Brandon to get off, and as they waited, there was a little girl that Morty noticed was staring at the Peridot plushy Morty was holding.

Morty tried not to pay much attention to the staring, but when the little girl tugged on her mother’s sleeve and Morty heard her say something along the lines of _‘Steven Universe’_ ‘something ‘something’ he smiled warmly and offered the plushy to the little girl. Like he’d said before, he never _really_ wanted the plushy. It was just a funny coincidence to see it after he’d been watching the show earlier in the morning.

She practically squealed as she gladly took the plushy, and Morty jumped slightly from the reaction. The mother of the little girl thanked Morty before the mother and daughter got onto the _Ferris Wheel._

Rick patted him on the back. “If the carnival didn’t make her day, _that_ sure as hell did.” He said.

Morty chuckled. “Y-yeah, I hope so.”

Sam and Brandon got off after that and the four of them made their way out of the carnival. They parted ways and headed to their separate cars.

Morty yawned as he got into the passenger seat of Ricks car and laid his head against the window. It was quiet as Rick started driving, and pretty soon, he drifted to sleep.

 

 

* * *

 

Morty woke up so someone insistently shaking his arm. “Hu— _wha?”_ He said, lifting his head in a mild panic. He immediately went to wipe his chin, where he’d embarrassingly drooled on himself.

 

He saw Rick next to him, and everything clicked together. “Hey, Morty, we’re at your house.” He said, his voice soft and calm. “We got in the car and you were out cold... like instantly.” He snapped his fingers to represent how quickly he passed out. “Just like that.”

Mort sleepily rubbed at his eyes, looking around in confusion. How had he fallen sleep so quickly? He felt like he just barely got into the car a few seconds ago. It had taken at least an hour to drive all the way to the carnival earlier. “Sorry... I-I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” He stammered, pushing himself to sit up.

“Nah, it’s fine.” Rick waved him off. “Anyway, we’re at your house, so...”

Morty looked out the window to see that they were, in fact, parked right outside of his house. “Oh, okay.” He unbuckled his seatbelt, still feeling the fog of sleep hang over him. He yawned again, covering his mouth with his hand. “T-thank you again, for... for today.”

“I’ll see you in a few days, when school starts back up again.” Rick said.

Morty laughed before speaking. “See you in science class?”

 

Rick narrowed his eyes, a playful tone to his voice as he spoke. “ _Hey_ , you can’t swap the roles. Doesn’t work that way.”

“Well, too bad.” Morty snickered. “I saw the chance and took it.”

Rick rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t hide the smile on his face. “Fine, then yeah, see you in science class.”

“Cool.” Morty laughed, opening the car door and stepping out into the cool night air.

 

He waved to Rick as he drove away.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song: https://youtu.be/AcOoyH2-ZTU
> 
> I just really like this song lol, and if you had no idea what it was, there’s the link.
> 
> I also hope you guys know what I meant by the latter game... I don’t think I described what it was all that well.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading! I really appreciate it!


	11. Nothing to Worry About

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day back to school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! (Or whatever you celebrate this time of year! I just hope everyone is having fun, wherever you guys are!) 
> 
> (And lol sorry I’m saying Merry Christmas a few days early, but I’m not gonna update again until way after the holiday has past.)

Morty spent the rest of his three days of Fall Break mostly just lazing about the house. Rick had texted him a few times, asking about how his day was going and stuff like that. He sent a few memes, too, and Morty had been more than happy to send a few back.

He was all too aware of how quickly their relationship had escalated. Rick had not too long ago said he no longer wanted to speak with him. And they went from _that,_ to _kissing,_ and then to friends.

_Friends_.

Morty thought that was the perfect title for the time being. The perfect title for what was between them. He didn’t want to go further— at least, not right now. He had to figure everything out before he suggested any changes to that ‘status.’ (Not that he’d be very good at starting that kind of conversation. He was going to have to grow a pair of balls before he did that).

He _really_ liked Rick. He was definitely starting to except that he was crushing on him, and every time he saw Rick, it only got worse.

He was still weary of being betrayed, still weary of how he could possibly end up hurting people by getting close to Rick— how he could end up only hurting himself in the end. And those are part of the many reasons he doesn’t want to advance further. They were good reasons, Morty thought. Reasons that were good enough to postpone, or even cancel, a relationship above friendship.

Morty’s pretty sure he trusts Rick. Maybe not completely— how could he, really, when things had been so flaky before now? He trusts Rick... but not entirely. He trusts him, but not without some sort of lingering doubt.

And it wasn’t mostly Rick’s fault for his lack of trust— he was just so afraid of being betrayed in general. Everyone always betrayed him in the end, and while a part of him hoped and almost _knew_ Rick was different, he couldn’t shake off those fears.

 Morty posted the picture Rick had taken of him. He didn’t look at the attention it got, though. He mostly just posted it because he knew Rick wanted him to. And he was being honest when he said that it was the only half-decent picture he’d ever seen of himself, so why _not_ post it?

Halloween passed by on the last day of Fall Break and Morty dressed up in his Grim Reaper costume and handed out candy to the kids (a few of them were high schoolers, like him) that came knocking on the door. It was pretty uneventful.

Mom asked him how the carnival had been. He said it had been fun. Jerry grumbled behind her.

He didn’t talk to Summer, except when passing each other in the hallway and telling each other that dinner was ready. What was weird, however, was how she kept giving him weird looks.

They weren’t the angry ones Morty was used to when she was upset with him. They looked more along the lines of curious and confused (more confused than anything).

He pretended not to notice the weird looks she gave him.

 

 

* * *

 

 

_-Monday_

 

Morty yawned, covering his mouth with his hand as he laid his head against the window of the bus. He didn’t want to be awake right now. He’d definitely waned off of his school sleeping schedule over the break. Last night, he had stayed up till 1AM watching _Supernatural_. He had been so lost in it that he hardly even noticed the time until he looked up at his digital alarm clock.

He felt all anxious inside, more than usual. His stomach was doing flips and his heart kept racing. He assumed it had something to do with seeing Rick today, even though he knew he didn’t have anything to _really_ worry about.

Or... maybe he did? Maybe people would see him hanging out with Rick and start creating rumors. He didn’t want people to make rumors about him... not again. He just wished everyone would leave him alone.

Yeah, that had to be why he was so anxious. It wasn’t Rick, it was just... everyone and everything else. He was scared.

Morty frowned as that thought crossed his mind. That’s ridiculous! He was such a wimp if he was scared of something so dumb. He lifted his head from the window and rubbed at his eyes, trying to wake himself up more. He just had to act natural. Be normal. He was just a normal kid going to a normal school.

It was just... _sad_ that he had to repeat that to himself sometimes.

When the bus arrived at the school, Morty got off timidly, tugging at the strings of his backpack as he felt his anxiety rise up within him. He lingered outside of the building for a while, pacing a little bit in front of the door and avoiding other entering students before a teacher instructed him to go inside.

He walked through the hallways without a single problem, and nothing was wrong with his locker when he arrived at it. He felt a lot of his anxiety quell at the sight of it unbothered, just as he’d left it.

There was something about his locker that had always made him anxious, and how could you blame him, when everyone knew it was _his_ locker, and therefore knew the best place to corner him should they ever feel like taking their anger out on someone.

He opened it and placed half of his books and his backpack inside. He sighed to himself, making sure he had all the books he needed for all of the classes he had before lunch.

When he closed his locker, he was immediately met with a pair of emerald green eyes staring right at him, and he yelped, completely startled by their sudden appearance.

He blanched when he noticed it was _Jessica_  who was standing by his locker, hugging a few of her own books to her chest as she looked at him with her wide, curious green eyes.

_Why did people always have to sneak up on him at his fucking locker? What was he, a bully hotspot?_

“Hi, Morty.” Jessica greeted, a soft smile on her face.

Morty leaned away from her, completely bewildered and lost. He had _no idea_ what he was supposed to do right now. “Uh...” Why was she talking to him? What was happening? He wanted her to leave. He was getting extremely uncomfortable and she’d only said _two_ words so far.

It wasn’t like her to just walk up to some loser and talk to them. And Morty was not only a loser, but he was _the_ biggest loser in the school. He was at the very bottom of the food chain. She didn’t have a _reason_ to talk to some lowlife like _Morty fucking Smith._

And then it hit him like a ton of bricks: she’d tried to message him on Instagram the other day, and he’d completely ignored her. _Nobody_ ignores Jessica and gets away with it. It’s just not how it worked in the high school hierarchy.

She probably wanted him to do her bidding, and execute some ‘master plan’ of hers. She probably assumed that because he was at the bottom, it meant that he would be completely willing, and even desperate enough, to do whatever she asked.

What she didn’t know, however, was that Morty fucking Smith _wasn’t_ some lap dog that would willingly let her chain him up. He was a lone wolf (Rick, Sam, and Brandon being the exceptions), and as far as he was concerned, he wasn’t going to have any part of it.

“So... did you get any of my messages?” She asked, tilting her head slightly in a way that used to drive Morty crazy back when he still liked her. Now, though, it just made him want to run for the hills and never come back. _God, why did he have to come to school today?_ “I tried texting you on Instagram.”

Morty nodded, for some reason unable to stop himself from telling the truth. “Yep, and I-I-I ignored you.” He said, clearing his throat uncomfortably. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I-I’ve got to get to class.”

“But class doesn’t start for another twenty minutes.” Jessica frowned at him, narrowing her eyes. The black eyeliner she wore made the glare seem all that more intimidating, and Morty started to sweat nervously. He just wanted to get out of here. “And don’t you know it’s rude to ignore people?”

Morty found it in himself to glare back at her. “Don’t you k-know it’s rude to spread false rumors about someone?” He shot back, referring to what she’d done to him last year. He was shocked by his own words and regretted it immediately. He mentally kicked himself. _Why the fuck did he say that?_ He wasn’t trying to pick a fight, the goal was to _get out of there,_ not make enemies!

All the false kindness that Jessica previously showcased quickly sapped away from her, and she suddenly looked pissed. “That was last year, you ass.”

“Doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about it.” Morty muttered under is breath. “...or forgiven it...”

“It was _last year,_ it doesn’t matter anymore.” Jessica insisted, taking a step towards Morty. She towered over him, looking down at him like he was lower than her in more ways than just physical height. “Get over yourself, Morty.”

Morty’s face screwed up in disgust. He might as well take some of the bait. Maybe if he pretended to agree, or at least _listened_ to what she was trying to say, she’d leave him alone. “What do you want from me?”

The red-head sighed, rolling her eyes in an exaggerated manner. “Believe it or not, I’m trying to _help_ you.”

Morty could smell the bullshit a mile away. He did _not_ want to get caught up in this. Why couldn’t she just leave him alone? Why did it have to be complicated? “Nope.” He said, spinning on his heals again. “I-I’m good. I don’t need your help.” He started briskly walking away.

Jessica grabbed his shoulder, tugging him back, and Morty felt annoyance begin to spark to life inside of him. “Wait, please listen.” She said. “Rick is... Rick is using you.”

“Excuse me?” Morty turned back to her, pushing her hand off of him. He didn’t want her to come anywhere _near_ him. _Please_ , god, he just wanted to _leave_. This conversation was starting to get _very_ uncomfortable for him.

“He doesn’t actually like you.” She continued, her expression softening into more of pleading look, but Morty knew it was fake. Jessica was always fake. She had a fake, plastic, manipulative smile, and he _hated_ her. Morty wanted nothing to do with it. “He’s been sleeping with my friend Alyssa, and he talks about you behind your back all the time. He makes fun of you, Morty.”

Morty’s eyes widened momentarily at the implication that Rick was doing such a thing. Just as quickly as the surprise came, it vanished once again. He had no reason to believe her. She was a liar, and Morty knew that fact all too well. He couldn’t believe he’d actually ever had a crush on this girl. “Goodbye, Jessica.” He said, turning to walk away again.

She didn’t stop him this time, but Morty could feel her gaze burning holes in the back of his head until he turned down a corner. He hugged his books close to his chest and shrunk down as he walked through the hallway towards his first period. He wished it were still Fall Break so he didn’t have to deal with all this anxiety and paranoia. It was _frustrating_.

He didn’t understand why both nothing and everything had to revolve around him. Everyone and nobody knew him at the same time. Nobody and everyone could see him. That’s how he felt all the time while he was at school. It was overwhelming and confusing and draining.

He entered his first period class with a sigh and sat down in his seat, which was in the back of the class. He knew he had plenty of time to roam the halls, perhaps even go and find Rick and hang out, but he didn’t think that would be a particularly good idea. He still wasn’t so sure about people seeing them hang out in public.

Sam had posted _one_ picture on Instagram, and now everyone knew he and Rick had somewhat been hanging out. _Jessica_ apparently knew, and the only way she could know that was because of the picture. That’s kind of what he’s been trying to avoid.

He couldn’t be mad at Sam, though. It wasn’t _really_ his fault.

He folded his arms on his desk and laid his head atop of them, deciding to take a quick power-nap before class started.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Morty drifted almost effortlessly through all of his classes. It was the first day back from Fall Break, so the teachers barely did any teaching. No homework had been assigned, either, which Morty silently rejoiced over. He didn’t have to deal with much interaction with others, either, except for when he passed Bird in the hallway at some point and they both nodded in each other’s direction.

He also saw Brad a few times, his fists and jaw clenched and eyes narrowed in his direction. It unsettled Morty, but he ignored it. He wasn’t going to come anywhere near him, he knew, because of what Rick had done for him weeks prior. He still had that metaphorical ‘off-limits for bullying’ stamp on his back.

But there was still something that was definitely off about how he was looking at him, and it was very unsettling. He hadn’t looked at him like that before the break— he’d just left him alone entirely, even pretended he didn’t exist. He just hoped he wouldn’t do worse than glare.

Morty took his usual shortcut to the lunch room out of habit, got his tray of food, and headed to the bathroom before the usual flood of students entered to get their own lunch. Before the break, he’d actually silently slipped his way into the cafeteria for lunch without very many people noticing, but right now it felt safer to just go into the bathroom for lunch.

He’d only taken one bite of the apple on his tray when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket, and he pulled it out. He wasn’t surprised to see that is was Rick. There’s nobody else who’d probably even bother to text him.

 

_**Rick: are you in the bathroom again?** _

 

Morty cringed slightly, remembering that Rick had the same lunch period as him.

 

_**Morty: yes...** _

__

_**Rick: well... you know you can hang out with us, right?** _

 

Morty ran a hand over his face, almost like he could wipe away his anxiety. He should probably go hang out with Rick... he was asking him to, and he didn’t want to decline and make Rick feel bad.

But he also really didn’t want to face everyone else in the school.

Ugh, why did everything have to be so complicated? He just... had to ignore everyone else. If he ignored everyone else, _maybe_ he’d actually be happy for once.

 

_**Morty: ok** _

_**Morty: I’ll be there soon** _

__

_**Rick: Cool** _

 

Morty got up from the ground with his tray in hand and made his way out into the hallway and towards the cafeteria. He hesitated outside the wide-open door, but once he saw Rick standing by the entrance waiting for him, that hesitance went away.

Rick smiled kindly at Morty and waved, and Morty smiled back almost against his will. It was uncontrollable, and he couldn’t prevent it if it were to save his life. He felt his heart flutter weirdly in his chest, and it was almost pleasant, if not for the fact that it made him feel all awkward and flustered.

“H- ** _H_** **-** hi, Rick.” His voice cracked horribly on the second syllable, and he cringed, cheeks heating up from the embarrassment. He hated it when his own body betrayed him like that. “Oh wow, that was t-terrible.”

Rick laughed, shaking his head in amusement as he began to lead Morty further into the cafeteria. “That was wonderful, Morty.” He joked. “T-that was a grade-A voice crack.”

Morty laughed with him, noticing how a few heads had turned to stare at them as they walked together. _Just don’t think about it. Just don’t think about it._ “Y-Yeah, that... that one was pretty intense.”

They walked together in a comfortable silence until they made it to the table that Rick, along with several other popular kids, usually sat.

Squanchy and Bird both greeted him when he arrived, and the other kids looked on in confusion as Rick gestured for him to sit in the seat Rick had apparently saved form him. The brunette hesitantly took the seat, setting his tray down on the table as Rick sat down next to him. It felt... _weird_ to Morty that Rick had saved a spot specifically for him. He hadn’t asked him to; he’d just done it, without even knowing if Morty _wanted_ to sit with them.

“Who’s that?” One is the other kids, Robert, asked. He was a jock on the football team, and that was all Morty knew about him.

“A friend.” Rick stated simply, obviously unwilling to give out more information than that. Robert seemed to get the hint, and turned his attention away.

“Welcome to the table!” Squanchy cheered, raising up his milk carton and gesturing towards him for a moment.

“T-thanks...” Morty replied quietly, offering a hesitant smile in Squanchy’s direction.

While Rick, Bird, and Squanchy seemed to be pretty happy about Morty’s presence, the others... weren’t nearly as enthusiastic about it. Instead, they either seemed confused or grossed out. Morty shrunk down in his seat in an attempt to make himself look smaller.

He was thankful when the others eventually began to ignore him all together, molding around his presence and not letting it disrupt anything they were wrapped up in.

Morty felt himself relax as life seemed to somehow resume around him, and he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. This was all he’d ever hoped for when at school— for people to move _around_ him, rather than _through_ him.

“How was the rest of your break?” Rick asked him, ignoring the conversation that was happening with everyone else.

Morty rose a brow at Rick, a small smile forming on his lips. It made him flush when he realized that Rick wanted to talk to _him_ , rather than anyone else at the table. “Y-you already know, Rick. Y-you asked me through text.”

Morty became immediately aware of their unusually close proximity, both of them unconsciously leaning towards each other as if they couldn’t _stand_ the physical distance between them. It _was_ the first time they’d seen each other in days, and Morty silently admitted to himself that he’d missed talking to Rick in person. He’d missed the easygoing smile he always had on, and the sharp crystal blue of his eyes.

“Yeah, _duh_.” Rick rolled his eyes playfully. “But I didn’t get to ask you in person yet. If you won’t answer my question, at least tell me how your day is goin’? You haven’t told me that, yet.”

Morty laughed quietly. He had him there. “Well, its been pretty good. No homework has been assigned from any of my teachers yet, so... I’m happy with that.”

“Yeah, the teachers here are more lazy than we are once break ends.” Rick chuckled. “It’s like they’re upset that they have to put up with us kids again.”

“Haha, yeah.” Morty laughed, knowing exactly what he meant. All of his teachers had seemed more on the melancholy side of things since the day started, almost as if teaching a bunch of brats like them was slowly whittling away at their souls.

Morty opened his mouth to continue speaking, but before anything could come out, he was interrupted by someone standing behind them.

“Hi, Rick.”

The two teens turned their heads to see Jessica and another girl standing behind them with their trays. Jessica had on that same ‘friendly’ smile she had given Morty earlier in the morning (the fact that they had interacted at all today had completely slipped Morty’s mind until now).

The girl standing next to her, whom Morty didn’t know the name of, was tall, with bleach-blond hair and hazel-brown eyes. Her skin was a very light, blended tan color and she was wearing dark blue skinny jeans with rips in the knees and a black blouse. She was staring at Rick with a small smirk on her face.

Rick’s face soured at the sight of them, but it was so subtle that Morty almost hadn’t caught. He looked down at his tray for a moment, remembering how he’d explained to Rick what Jessica had done to him the previous year. He just hoped no conflict would arise because of it.

“What’s up?” Rick asked, smirking at them. Somehow, Morty could tell it was forced— it had some subtle differences from his genuine smirk. The one he was giving them now looked more tense than natural, and almost shaky, like he was straining to do it.

Was he really this unsettled by Jessica just because of what Morty’d said about her?

Jessica glanced at the girl standing next to her. “Rick, you know Alyssa, right?” She asked, eyes darting to Morty’s for a spare moment like she was trying to hint to something. That’s when the brunette recalled what she’d said about Rick apparently _‘sleeping around’_ with a girl named Alyssa.

He scrunched his face up in annoyance and turned back around in his seat so he could focus on his food. There’s no way Rick was doing that. Sure, he was known to have slept with... with plenty of girls, but... there’s no way he’s been sleeping with her while the two of them have been working on their relationship.

_Right?_

But he and Rick weren’t even in a relationship, so... so he couldn’t get upset if he _was_ sleeping with Alyssa.

_But would he really do that?_

“Yeah, I know her.” Rick said, glancing at Morty for a moment before focusing back on Jessica.

“She was wondering if we could sit with you guys today.” Jessica continued.

Rick looked at Morty again, but the brunette wouldn’t look back at him. He cleared his throat in an attempt to get his attention, and the brunette gave him a _‘don’t look at me_ ’ shrug. “I-I don’t really care. They asked _you_ , Rick, not me.” He whispered softly, only loud enough for Rick to hear.

Rick frowned at him. “But what about—“

“Doesn’t matter.” Morty waved him off, giving him a small, reassuring smile. He... didn’t have anything to worry about. At least, he hopes he doesn’t. “It’s fine.”

It wasn’t really his right to say they couldn’t sit with them, even if Morty didn’t particularly want them to. And he didn’t want to _make_ anybody do anything, especially not _Rick_. He didn’t want to be in control of what the other teen did, or in control of what choices he made. If Rick was okay with Jessica and Alyssa sitting with them, and Morty was okay with it, too. Rick could make his own decisions.

Rick gave Morty a long, suspicious look before sighing. He turned back to the two girls with a smile. “If you girls wanna hang out, I’ve got no problem with it.” He leaned back against the table, oozing nonchalance.

Morty couldn’t help but almost drool at how relaxed Rick looked at that moment, with that easy-going yet cocky smirk on his face, and that slumped yet confident posture. He quickly caught what he was doing and flushed from the embarrassment, looking away and acting like he _hadn’t_ just been staring.

He saw Rick smirk at him from the corner of his eye, and he flushed even more, now that he knew Rick had saw what he’d been doing.

Jessica and Alyssa both exchanged a quick look before they both smiled at Rick.

“Great!” Alyssa said, rudely pushing her way between Morty and Rick all of a sudden.

Morty grumbled as he moved out of her way. He hadn’t expected her to just _insert_ herself _between_ the two of them like some sort of divider. It was rude, and Morty knew she was doing this on purpose because there _clearly_ hadn’t been any room between him and Rick. They’d _almost_ teen leg to leg, so close that Morty had vaguely been able to feel his body heat.

“Hey, my friend was just my sitting there.” Rick protested, peering around Alyssa so he could look at Morty, who was looking back at him with annoyance etched deeply into his face. All of his flustered energy had been replaced by irritation the second the back of Alyssa’s head had blocked Rick’s face from view.

“Oh,” Alyssa said, turning to look at Morty, staring him down with her hazel brown eyes. She looked him up and down with a bored expression, like she was scrutinizing every detail of him. “You’re... Marty, right? Do you mind if I sit here?”

Morty cringed at how she’d messed up his name. “Uh... it’s Morty, not Marty...” He said awkwardly. “And uh... I-I don’t mind...” He absolutely _did_ mind, actually. He just didn’t want to get into a fight.

Morty saw Rick give him a ‘ _what the fuck, man?’_ look over Alyssa’s shoulder. It was like he _wanted_ Morty to tell her to fuck off. Morty decided in his mind that if Rick wanted her to leave, the older teen would have to tell her himself. He wasn’t gonna be any part of it. He had too many targets on his back already.

“Right, right,” Alyssa said, still seeming more bored of him than one would be watching paint dry. “Thanks for the seat, Marty.” She then turned back to Rick, starting up a conversation with him.

Morty sighed. She either hadn’t been listening at all, or she was just pronouncing his name wrong on purpose to annoy him. He picked up his apple and began eating it again as Jessica made some other kid scoot over so she could sit next to Morty.

Morty ignored her again, focusing on the apple. He didn’t want to deal with her more than he’d already had to today.

“Morty,” She whispered, getting close to his ear, and Morty felt an uncomfortable shiver run up his spine. He leaned away a little bit, not enjoying the fact that she’d invaded his privacy so rudely. “Please listen to me. He’s using you. Just look at them.”

Morty couldn’t help but look over at Alyssa and Rick. The two of them were talking. Rick was looking... a tad on the uncomfortable side, his brows furrowed slightly as he spoke to her.

Alyssa had folded her arms on the table and leaned on top of them, pushing her boobs up slightly to make them look bigger. She kept giggling and batting her eyelashes at Rick, and the blue-haired teen didn’t really seem to know what to do with himself.

But, _god,_ they really did look kind of good together. And Alyssa was _hot_. Definitely way hotter and cuter than Morty was, or could ever be. How could Rick _not_ like her? How could he actually choose Morty, a lame, plain-looking, scrawny little husk, when Alyssa was so obviously the better choice?

_How could he compete with **that?**_

And even worse, Morty was... a _boy_. He’d never heard anything about Rick liking or dating any boys. He’d always been into girls... why would he even like Morty?

Sure, Rick had told him he was confused about how he felt, and then he’d kissed him. He kissed him, and then told him that it helped him figure it out— that he _did_ like Morty in that way. But what if he’d been lying?

Morty felt a self-conscious bubble form around himself, and he shrunk down in his seat. He was too scrawny and too short, and his hair was a curly mess constantly. He was stupid and oblivious. He’d always seen himself as unattractive in pretty much every aspected, but right now those thoughts were heightened, ricocheting around inside of his head.

He didn’t understand how Rick could possibly like him more than this Alyssa girl. It was downright incredulous— there’s no way Rick could like him, not when there were so many people that were _so much_ better than him.

_‘No.’_

_‘Stop that,’_ Morty scolded himself. He was being stupid. Rick said he liked him, didn’t he? He wasn’t one to be all that worried about offending people when it came to rejections— he could easily reject anyone he wanted, but he hadn’t rejected Morty (not that there had been much to reject. Rick was the one who came onto Morty _first_ ).

This Alyssa girl was being rude, and Rick was very clearly uncomfortable with how she was acting. He needed to stop thinking so self-destructively. He was only digging his own grave by doing that.

He looked at Rick’s expression again as he continued to talk with Alyssa. He looked like he wasn’t really focused on what she was saying, a far off look in his eyes. He wasn’t interested in her, Morty could tell. He just looked like he wanted to escape.

The brunette looked at Jessica. “Can’t you just leave me alone?” He asked, pushing his tray away from himself. He had lost his appetite.

Jessica narrowed her eyes again. “Wow, so rude, Morty, I’m trying to _help_ you. It’s not my fault you’re too stupid to see that.”

“No, you’re trying to _manipulate_ me.” Morty corrected, giving her an incredulous look. “And Jessica, _why_ would I care if he was screwing some girl?” He scoffed, knowing fully well that Jessica had no way of knowing he and Rick were involved in a somewhat-maybe-not-sure-romantic relationship. “Rick and I aren’t together. We’re _friends_. Do you know what that word means?”

Jessica scoffed, crossing her arms. “Gee, I sure dodged a bullet rejecting you last year.”

“We both did...” Morty muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” Jessica snapped.

“Nothing.” Morty rolled his eyes, grabbing his tray once more. He moved to stand up so he could leave his seat and find somewhere else to sit. He could see an empty spot next to Bird and Squanchy, and that seemed safe enough.

He felt a little self-conscious again. What if Sam and Brandon didn’t really like him? What if they were just pretending because Rick likes him? Morty shook his head, once again dismissing his negative thoughts. If he weren’t holding a tray, he would have smacked himself in the head for thinking like that.

Jessica reached forward and yanked on Morty’s wrist before he could fully stand up, almost making him spill his tray everywhere. “Listen to me,” She growled. “I’m not like I was last year. I’ve _changed_. Rick said he liked me, and he _used_ me, Morty. He _lied_ to me. I’m trying to help you before he does the same thing to you.”

Morty’s mind instantly drifted into dangerous territory, like the fact that Jessica and Rick had actually screwed before. That’s the only thing he could think of when she said Rick had _‘used her.’_

He furrowed his brow, face scrunching up in disgust. “Wow, that’s a pretty heavy accusation, Jessica. I m-might’ve believed you if I hadn’t a-already known you were a pathological liar. And like I said, I could care less about who Rick does or does not screw. We’re _friends_ , remember? Which means Rick and I _aren’t t-together._ We aren’t _dating_. We hang out _as friends.”_

It was mostly true. He and Rick _were_ just friends. They weren’t a couple and they didn’t hold hands... except when Rick occasionally grabbed his wrist or hand to show him something. And they had kissed, but... they still weren’t a couple and they weren’t dating. They were taking it _extra_ slow and Morty could comfortably describe their relationship as ‘friends,’ even if it wasn’t _entirely_ platonic.

But even so, weather or not he and Rick were into each other was none of Jessica’s business, and Morty had every right to lie to her face about it.

Despite the harshness of the conversation, it was so quiet and so subtle that nobody noticed it was even happening, and Morty was thankful for that fact. Not even Rick seemed to notice what was happening.

He pulled away from Jessica and headed towards the empty seat near Bird and Squanchy. He could see Rick staring at him from the corner of his eye, like he was afraid that Morty was leaving or something.

“C-can I sit over here?” Morty asked once he got to Squanchy and Bird. He could see Rick visibly relax at the sight of him interacting with the two.

Bird look at Rick, and then back to Morty. “Yes, of course.” He said, gesturing to the empty seat next to the two of them.

“Yeah, man, but why here?” Squanchy asked as Morty sat down next to them. “Weren’t you hanging with Rick?”

He felt a little awkward joining them for lunch, but... they didn’t seem to mind. Plus, it was better than having to deal with Jessica any longer than he’d already been forced to.

“I-I kinda got kicked out.” Morty chuckled in mild amusement at the thought. Jessica and Alyssa has literally just tossed him to the side like garbage, and Rick had been caught in a trap. “It just sorta happened...”

Squanchy looked down the table at Rick, who still seemed to be preoccupied with Alyssa, who was blabbering on about something or another. Jessica had scooted down into Morty’s previous seat and had also joined the conversation. The short ginger rolled his eyes. “Ah, I get it now. That happens to Rick sometimes. He’s like a chick magnet, and sometimes the chicks get in the way of bro-time.”

Morty laughed at that, shaking his head as he poked listlessly at his food. “Yeah, n-no kidding.”

“Do not fret, Morty.” Bird said, giving the smaller brunette two short, reassuring pats to his shoulder. “I am very sure that he would much rather talk to you at the moment.”

Morty smiled at Bird, feeling like, for once, he belonged somewhere. Bird and Squanchy were good friends. “Thank you, Bird.” He said.

He looked back at Rick to see that he was staring right at him. The blue-haired teen immediately looked away upon being caught, and Morty saw his face flare red as he turned back to Jessica and Alyssa.

Morty chuckled quietly to himself. Yeah, he had nothing to worry about.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“With the new semester, you will be getting new partners.” Mrs. Kristie said in a bored, monotonous voice. The whole class collectively groaned, except for Olivia, who cheered. She was ecstatic to partner up with someone who _wasn’t_ Morty.

Morty rolled his eyes at her, though he was internally rejoicing over the fact that he did not to be her partner anymore, too. She never helped him and she always complained about how annoying and/or dumb he was.

Though, he wasn’t sure who he was supposed to partner up with now. He and Rick exchanged a glance in each other’s direction, but Morty wasn’t too sure if he _could_ be partners with him. There were probably a bunch of other people who also wanted to be partners with Rick, and Morty might not be the immediate priority.

But then again, last time they’d been _assigned_ partners, rather than being able to choose them. So he probably doesn’t even have a choice in the matter.

“This time, I will let you _choose_ your partner.” The teacher droned on. “However, if I find that you and your partner cannot work together properly, I _will_ reassign you.”

Okay, then. Looks like that eliminated one issue.

The class erupted into a chatter as everyone scrambled to find a new partner, the best friends immediately gravitating towards each other.

Morty stood in place, looking around at the chaos. He saw Rick walking towards him, but before the blue-haired teen could reach him, Olivia got in his way. “Hey, Rick, wanna be partners?”

Rick shook his head. “Sorry, but no. I have someone else in mind.”

Olivia looked like Rick had just informed her of her dog’s death. “But— but—“

“How about you partner with Anna? She doesn’t have one yet.” He suggested, pointing to the other girl across the room, and Olivia nodded glumly.

He then pushed past her and walked up to Morty. The brunette felt his face heat up the closer he got.

“Wanna partner up?” He asked, smirking at Morty like he already knew the answer. Which he _did,_ because it was obvious what Morty would say.

“W-What do you think?” Morty laughed, following Rick to one of the lab tables.

“Yeah, stupid question, wasn’t it?” Rick laughed with him.

People eyed them in confusion, including Olivia, who looked super upset over the fact that Rick had rejected her in favor of _Morty_. The brunette shrunk down slightly as he heard his and Rick’s names drift throughout the room in hushed whispers.

He kept anxiously looking around and making awkward eye contact with whoever would say his name in a conversation. Rick was either obvious to it, or he didn’t give a crap, because Morty didn’t see him give a reaction.

“Y-you know, um...” Morty spoke to Rick quietly, biting his lip as he tried not to seem suspicious. “Everyone’s... everyone’s talk— looking at us, and stuff...”

Rick looked around the room, eyeing everyone for a moment. “I noticed. Just ignore them.” He rolled his eyes. “Bunch’a nosy little fucks...” He muttered.

Morty frowned at him.

_“What?”_ Rick frowned back. “You know it’s true. Just ignore them, Morty.”

Rick subtly brushed his hand against Morty’s, not doing much more than that to try and comfort the brunette because he knew Morty didn’t want anyone to see them acting all lovey-dovey towards each other.

Morty sighed, glancing around at everyone. “I’ll try.”

Class got started as soon as everyone seemed to get settled with their newly-chosen partners.

The teacher just gave everyone a worksheet that had questions about kinetic and potential energy, and told them to have at it. The two teens managed to finish the worksheet pretty quickly, and spent the rest of the class just talking. It was fun to talk to Rick, and the more he did it, the more natural and playful the conversations became. There was also always a flirtatious undertone that seemed to drive both of them wild, but it was thankfully subtle enough for nobody else to notice.

The brunette eventually completely forgot about the fact that half the class had eyes on them, and just started to have fun. He found himself relaxing easily around Rick, as if the rest of the world around them stopped existing. It was so easy to forget everything else when he was around him— all of the stares no longer mattered or affected him.

When class ended, they turned in the work and went their separate ways, both of them feeling more happy at school than they had been in a long time.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Rick was absolutely, undoubtedly, inexplicably falling for Morty. He could feel the strong emotions quickly capturing his heart and pulling him under.

Thoughts of Morty stayed in his mind, day and night— even in his _dreams,_ he saw him. It was infuriating and infatuating at the same time, and whenever he saw Morty, the whole world seemed to light up like fireworks in the night sky.

He couldn’t get the brunette out of his mind. He couldn’t get the lingering feeling of Morty’s lips against his own out of his mind. His hair, his eyes, his skin— he was so... _so_... so just... he couldn’t even find the right word for it. _Amazing? Infatuating? Wonderful? Addicting? Great?_

Rick wanted to spend every moment he could with Morty, wanted to hold him close and kiss him again. _God,_ did he want to. He’d practically give anything to kiss Morty again. He wanted to hold him so badly, and to just be _close_ to him.

But he restrained himself from doing those things. He knew Morty didn’t _completely_ trust him yet. He could just sense that he didn’t, in some way. Call it a hunch.

It made Rick feel horrible for what he’d done to betray that trust when he’d first met Morty. He’d been so _stupid_. He’d been a dumb fucking idiot, and he wished he hadn’t been so shitty.

When he first met Morty, he hadn’t thought too much about him. He’d thought about him _just enough_ for him to leave an impression. And then he accidentally knocked him into the floor, and next thing he knew, he felt an almost uncontrollable _need_ to drag the brunette with him onto the roof.

And then the brunette actually _suggested_ something crazy— _jump off the fucking roof_ , and Rick had been so surprised by the suggestion because, based on the few spare moments Rick had spent talking to Morty for the first time, he’d picked up that the kid was anxious as shit. And all of a sudden he was turning his entire vibe around and doing something _crazy_.

Rick had been pretty fascinated by his actions, and that’s when it had started. That’s when he started to like Morty, he knew. And Rick had been completely oblivious at first.

Morty was kind, selfless, and shy, but he was also completely underneath all of it. He had layers to his character, things that weren’t visible at all when you first meet him. It was so fascinating for Rick to discover all of these hidden depths, and he loved every new thing he learned about him. He knew how to take the shit people threw at him, and he knew when to stand up for himself. Maybe he didn’t excel in physical fights all that well, but Rick knew he was smart enough to get out of certain situations.

As Ricks feelings for Morty got worse, he stated to act out a little bit and do dumb things that ended up hurting Morty. And now that he had his shit together and had excepted his exponentially growing crush, he planned on fixing what he’d done. It would take time, but he’d fix it.

He wanted Morty to trust him, he wanted to show the brunette that everything was fine— that Rick wasn’t going to hurt him, and that if anyone else tried to, he’d protect him. Rick would protect him from everyone— hell, he’d fight the whole goddamn school if he had to.

He was falling for Morty hard and fast, and he hoped with all his heart that Morty knew how much he already cared about him.

 

* * *

 

 

Jessica was absolutely _livid_.

She broke up with Brad with the intention of getting with Rick. She’d done it _all_ for him— that stupid, idiotic, blue-haired _freak._

And then he had the _audacity_ to go and befriend that stupid Smith kid. _‘How fucking **dare** he,’ _ Her mind repeated like a mantra. How fucking _dare_ he act like that lowlife was better than her. It was an insult, an attack against her popularity.

Jessica was infallible, and she believed this with every fiber of her being. How could Rick like someone who was anything beneath her? _How fucking could he?_

Morty might _say_ that him and Rick were only friends, but Jessica saw straight through him. She saw the way they looked at each other— those longing, pining gazes. _They were infatuated with each other, and Jessica **hated** it._

Rick Sanchez looked at _Morty Smith_ like he’d hung the moon in the sky, and lovingly placed each and every star.

Jessica couldn’t have that. _No_ , it was so wrong. She wanted Rick to look at _her_ like that, not some stupid, stuttering buffoon. She should be a goddess in Rick’s eyes— he should be _worshiping_ the very ground she walks on.

It was so insulting that _Rick Sanchez_ thought someone like _Morty Smith_ was above her in any way, shape, or form.

Morty was far below her, like a small ant running annoyingly across her kitchen floor. She could crush him under her shoes if she was so inclined, and _god_ , she was determined to _stomp_ on him. It enraged her that Rick would choose him over _her_.

And no, no, _no_ , Jessica wouldn’t stand for such a thing. She always got what she wanted. _Always_. And this was no exception.

She was going to crush Morty Smith under her shoe like the pathetic little ant that he is. And she knew exactly how she could do it, too.

“Alyssa.” Jessica snapped, pulling her friend to the side in the hallway. “I need you to do me a favor.”

Alyssa smiled at her, the grin wide and mischievous. She was always up to start trouble. She was always willing to beat the shit out of someone, weather it be by actually throwing punches or putting together some vengeful plan. She would be perfect for Jessica’s plan. “Your wish is my command, Jess.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, you guys are gonna hate me.


	12. Was it all a joke from the start?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well... there’s a lot of fluff AND angst in this chapter lol. 
> 
>  
> 
> Buuuut you guys are still going to hate me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have fun reading!

 

**_Tuesday_ **

 

“Uno!” Morty said with a grin, slamming a green eight card on top of a blue eight. Now he only had _one_ Uno card left, while everyone else had way more than him. 

“Aw— what?!” Squanchy complained. He had pretty much half the deck in his hand, and he glared at Morty with a childish pout. 

  The four of them were sitting at a lunch table playing the card game. Rick and Morty were sitting next to each other and Sam and Brandon were sitting across from them.

Rick chuckled as he placed a green draw two card on the table. “Draw two, Squanchy.”

The ginger grumbled to himself as he looked through his deck for a moment before stacking a blue draw two card on top of the green one. “How about Bird draws four, huh?”

Bird immediately put another blue draw two card down on top of other one, and he looked at Morty. “Draw six, Morty.”

Morty groaned. He’d been _so close_ to winning! “It isn’t fair!” He protested while drawing six more cards from the deck until he had a total of seven. 

Rick placed a blue reverse card on top of the blue draw two. He looked at Morty mischievously. He’d actually done it by accident, but he’d seen Morty’s cards and noticed that he didn’t have a _single_ blue card. 

He watched as the brunette looked down at his seven cards with furrowed brows, obviously frustrated over the fact that he didn’t have any cards to put down. He sighed, rolling his eyes before he began to reluctantly draw more cards from the stack. By the time he got to the tenth card, without any luck finding a blue card (or another reverse card), he started to laugh, eyes widening in shocked amusement. “Why do t-the blue cards hate me?” 

Squanchy watched with his mouth hanging open in shock as Morty continued to draw card after card of the deck, laughing almost hysterically at how he couldn’t even find _one_ blue card. “Holy shit, Morty.”

Rick began laughing almost hysterically as well, patting Morty’s shoulder as he continued to draw. “Jesus Christ, who has all the fucking blues?!”

“Well...” Bird spoke up, clearing his throat slightly. He had a pretty large deck as well, and he sifted through it with furrowed brows. “All of the cards I posses are of the color blue.”

“Oh my _god_ , I’m still drawing for blues!” Morty complained, before he _finally_ stumbled across a red reverse card. “Oh, thank the heavens!” He said, slamming the reverse card onto the table. He looked at his deck of cards with a horrified expression— and to think, just a few minutes ago, he’d had just _one_ card.

Rick laughed almost evilly as he placed another blue reverse card over the red one.

_“Motherfucker!”_ Morty cursed, banging his fist down onto the table in anger. He turned to narrow his eyes at Rick with a playful yet angry glare. “Stop that!” He said. He knew Rick was doing this to him on purpose. 

Squanchy and Rick both bursted into laughter at Morty’s reaction. 

“ _Woah_ , Morty,” Rick said, leaning away from the brunette as if he feared he might lash out at him. “I’m just playing the game.”

Morty huffed and rolled his eyes as he began to draw even _more_ card from the deck. “You’re doing this on purpose!” He complained, but there was a small, playful grin on his face. Despite how angry he was with his perpetually growing deck of cards, he was actually having a lot of fun. 

He didn’t get to play card games with people very often. Sometimes his mother tried to set up a weekly Game Night, but the game always ended before it finished and most of the the participants grew bored within the first ten minutes. 

This, however, was _fantastic_. He hadn’t played a good game of Uno in a long time. 

He continued to draw until he _finally_ found a blue four card and slapped it down on top of the growing stack victoriously, and Bird quickly slapped his own blue card on top of it.

The game went on throughout the entire duration of lunch, and it was filled with skip’s, reversal’s, add two’s, add four’s, color changes, and deck swaps. There was a bunch of betrayal and evil master plans that each other the four of them attempted, some successfully executed and others quickly derailed. 

By the end of the game, Bird was the one that reigned victorious, and everyone else at the table collectively groaned over their own defeat. 

There had been a couple of people sitting nearby who had watched the game near the end, and they congratulated Bird on his victory. 

Lunch ended, and the four friends parted ways, heading to their individual classes. 

Morty was in an unbelievably good mood, and he was super excited to see Rick in science class, which was only a couple of periods away. 

He sat in his math class, the teacher, Mr. Goldenfold, giving instructions on how to factor expressions. Morty was distracted by thoughts of Rick, so the information just drifted into one ear and out of the other. 

He was so happy to finally have _friends_ — Ones that he could actually count on, no less. They were nothing like Summer, who had once been his only friend. He could never count on her to have his back, but with his new friends, he _could_. He could relax and let his guard down around them. He could have _fun_ without needing to watch his own back. 

He wanted to somehow thank Rick, because he’d completely turned his life around. Things might not be so great at home, and sure, a lot of people at school still hated his guts, but he was... _happier_. Not completely, but he could be _happy_ with Rick. He could be himself. 

“Morty Smith!” Mr. Goldenfold snapped, and Morty was pulled from his thoughts in an instant.

“Y-Yes?” He shrunk down once he realized everyone’s eyes were on him. Jessica’s eyes stood out the most out of everyone’s, and she was glaring at Morty. Math class was the only class that the two of them shared, but they never talked to each other during it. He decided to just ignore her. 

“How about you come solve this problem on the board?” Mr. Goldenfold said in a very stern tone, holding out a piece of chalk for the teen to see. He had an unamused look on his face, probably upset because he knew Morty hadn’t been paying attention.

Aw geez. Morty was in trouble now.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Rick was hiding just inside the bathroom, peaking carefully out into the hallway as people walked past, completely unaware of his presence. He’d checked each stall to make sure the bathroom was empty so that this plan wouldn’t go down in flames, and he’d also hacked into the school system to check Morty’s schedule, so he knew that next period the brunette _should_ be heading towards his History class in room 180. 

His eyes scanned the crowd of students moving past, looking out for the short brunette carefully. He was going to make a move on Morty. He knew the brunette was still unsure of wether or not he wanted to try to be in a relationship with him, but Rick couldn’t stop _thinking about him._ It was driving him nuts. He had to at least make some kind of _small_ move on him. 

And he was gonna ask before he did it, too, and he’d back down if he said no. He’d never force this on Morty, but he wanted to at least _try_. He wanted to so badly, and he was going to go crazy if he couldn’t at least do that. 

He saw the small teen suddenly walk right past the bathroom door, and that’s when Rick took action. His hand darted out and he grabbed Morty’s arm, gently pulling him into the bathroom.

The brunette yelped, nearly dropping his books as he was tugged into the bathroom, somehow completely unseen by anyone else.

Rick saw the panic on his face vanish the moment he saw him, his eyebrows raising high up on his forehead as he stared at him with wide eyes. He was pressed against the wall, and Rick was standing closely in front of him, towering over the brunette. “Rick?” He said in a questioning tone, a confused smirk tugging at one side of his lips.

Rick chuckled. “Hope I didn’t startle you.” He rested a hand on the wall next to him, leaning forward slightly.

Morty flushed, looking away as he tried to cover it up. “Well, y-you did.” He laughed. “I-I didn’t know _what_ was happening until I saw you.”

Rick chuckled. “Sorry ‘bout that, but I just...” He leaned down even closer to Morty, his voice seeming to drop an octave as he went on. “...I couldn’t wait to see you.”

“R-Rick...” Morty said, biting his lip nervously as he tried to peer past Rick into the rest of the bathroom. “I-I-um... i-is there a-a-anyone else— uh... in h-here...?” He stammered. Rick was getting _extra_ flirty right now, and _holy shit,_  it was making Morty weak in the knees. He was practically trembling from the thrill and excitement he felt from Rick doing this while anyone could just walk in on them. 

It didn’t mean he actually _wanted_ someone to see them, though. He was still afraid of what would happen to Rick if someone saw him, _the_ most popular guy in school, getting this close to a lowlife like Morty. 

“Nah, it’s just us.” Rick assured. He was so close that Morty could feel his body heat despite the fact that they weren’t even touching. He felt his heart flutter inside his chest. Morty was just so damn cute when he was flustered like this, and Rick’s eyes quickly zeroed in on the brunette’s lips. 

Morty giggled, his cheeks scarlet red as he openly looked Rick up and down. He was so _hot_ — He was strong yet lean, and his blue hair was so wild, but in the best way. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt that seemed to hug his body just _perfectly_. 

God, he was so nervous, and Rick was _so close._ He wanted more than anything in this moment to get even closer, but he was too anxious to initiate such a thing, so he just settled with letting Rick take the lead with this. 

He didn’t even know what Rick wanted right now, and he was afraid of fucking it up. He didn’t even know why Rick was in such a mood right now. “S-so, Rick...” He said, looking up at the taller teen almost anxiously. “W-why’d you pull me in here?”

Rick chuckled. “Mind if I show ya?” He whispered, knowing fully well that it would be better to ask before just _doing_ It. He didn’t want to scare Morty away, and he’d be completely fine, if not slightly disappointed, if Morty told him no. 

Morty flushed even more, if that was even possible. He had a vague idea about what Rick meant by ‘showing him,’ and a large part of him hoped he was right. “S-sure...” He mumbled back, and Rick could see a flicker of _something_ in his green eyes.

Rick chuckled at how flustered Morty was before he closed the gap between them, kissing the brunette softly. 

Morty immediately responded to the kiss, feeling like his legs were about to give out beneath him. This kiss felt even better than the last ones, and his heart was _pounding_ inside his chest. 

As his lips parted, Rick’s tongue found its way inside of Morty’s mouth, and he trailed it along his teeth and the inside of his cheeks, going over every inch he possibly could. Morty shyly pressed his own tongue back against Rick’s, pushing up on his toes to get closer to him. If he weren’t holding several books, he would have tried to grab Rick’s shirt to pull him even closer. He was so tempted to just drop them on the floor so he could do just that.

Rick’s hands found their way into Morty’s hair, running his fingers through it carefully. The feeling was almost electric, and Morty wanted _more_ , but he felt like this was just fine for now. 

They both finally pulled away from the kiss when they ran out of air, Morty’s face even more flushed than before. Rick’s face was red now, too, and he pressed his forehead affectionately to Morty’s as they both panted in unison.

They were both startled when the bell sounded, the two of them jumping apart in a panic. Morty’s eyes darted around for a moment in confusion, looking around for anyone who could have seen them. 

When they both realized they were still alone, they looked at each other and laughed. 

“See ya in science class, Morty?” Rick laughed, grinning at the brunette who still looked flustered beyond belief.

Morty laughed, rolling his eyes playfully. “Yeah, see you in science class.” He said, continuing to giggle.

Rick ruffled Morty’s hair affectionately. “Cool.” He said, and then slipped out of the bathroom, giving Morty one last look before disappearing. 

Morty waited an extra minute in the bathroom so he could calm himself down before slipping out of the bathroom himself and heading to class. He couldn’t get the heat to leave his cheeks, and he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. 

Rick kissed him again. _Rick kissed him again._ And he managed not to panic this time! As he sped down the empty hallways towards his history class, he touched his lips, already missing how they felt when Rick had been kissing him. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Jessica sharply turned the corner, crashing directly into Rick, just as she’d planned. 

The blue-haired teen cursed under his breath, nearly falling over. Jessica actually almost fell over as well, but she used both of their uncoordinated states to reach into Rick’s back pocket and take his phone. She quickly slipped it up her sleeve where Rick couldn’t see. She wore a long-sleeved white sweater specifically for this purpose.

“Fuck,” Rick said, pushing the red-head back gently and brushing himself off. “Jessica, what the hell?” 

“Oh, sorry, Rick!” Jessica said, pulling her best ‘apologetic’ look. She blinked up at him innocently. “This is actually very convenient, though! I was just looking for you!”

“Uh, why’s that?” Rick didn’t seem very interested with what she was saying. He looked past her and down the hallway, unfocused. Morty must have told Rick something about what she’d done the previous year. It wasn’t like him to act so distant from her. 

_Damn that little stuttering piece of shit._

Before Morty had been part of the equation, Rick had been more than happy to flirt with her. That’s why she just _had_ to destroy that gross little shit. Morty Smith was going to stay away from her precious Rick. 

“Well...” Jessica said, acting awkward on purpose. She fidgeted with her hands, furrowing her brows. “You remember Brad, right?”

Rick nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets. He seemed a little more interested in what she was saying now, and Jessica had to suppress a grin. “What about him?”

“I kind of saw him and Morty heading to the football field, near the bleachers...” She bit her lip as she explained the false story. “Morty looked... he looked scared. I was going to tell a teacher, but I ran into you first, so...”

Rick’s eyes suddenly widened in alarm, and he grabbed Jessica’s shoulders, as quick as a viper. “When did you see this happen?” He demanded, and Jessica could see the panic in his eyes. 

“Um... like, ten minutes ago?” Jessica said, internally celebrating over how easily Rick was falling for her tricks. It was hilarious how easy this plan was flowing, and he couldn’t wait to see the aftermath. She was gonna _crush_ Morty Smith. 

_“Fuck,”_ Rick cursed again, releasing her. “Thanks, Jess...” He said, and Jessica watched as he bolted down the hallway. Just as he was out of sight, Jessica pulled out Rick’s stolen phone. 

She grinned widely as she input Rick’s passcode, having memorized it when she saw him unlock his phone once. She looked through his contacts for a while before she realized Rick didn’t have Morty’s contact info. Maybe Instagram?

She found the app and went to the messages. The top one was Morty Smith. Bingo! 

She opened the chat and began texting, excitement running through her veins. She just hoped Alyssa was successful, too. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

_**Rick: Hey, Morty. Let’s skip sixth period. Meet me under the bleachers on the football field.** _

 

Morty looked down at his phone in confusion, wondering why Rick would want to skip all of a sudden. He moved out of the way of all the other people in the hallway and leaned against some lockers as he texted Rick back.

 

_**Morty: ok, but why? We’ll see each other either way.** _

__

_**Rick: ik, but I wanna show you something. It’s very important.** _

 

Morty frowned at that, for some reason feeling suspicious. What could he be planning? 

 

**_Morty: is this about what happened earlier?_ **

 

He hoped Rick knew he was talking about the kiss. He bit his lip nervously as he waited for his response. 

 

_**Rick: No, this is something different. Please, just meet me there.** _

 

Morty bit his lip anxiously again, gnawing at it as he wondered why Rick seemed so urgent about this. He guessed it would be fine to skip science class, just as long as he got to hang out with Rick. _Not like he hadn’t skipped it before..._

He just had to let the other know that they shouldn’t make it a big habit, though. He didn’t want to fail, and he actually fairly enjoyed being in that class.

 

_**Morty: okay, Rick. Meet you in a few minutes.** _

 

 

* * *

 

 

Rick was set into panic mode. 

He knew Morty was prone to getting the shit beat out of him, and he also knew that things could get _real_ fucking bad for him. 

Frank had pulled a _knife_ on Morty at one point. That kind of shit was dangerous, and Morty could get seriously hurt. After that incident, just the thought of anyone attacking Morty at school was a big reason for Rick to worry. 

If Frank was crazy enough to try and fucking _stab_ Morty, who says Brad wasn’t crazy enough to do it, too? And the fact that Brad had apparently dragged Morty to the _football field_ was sketchy as hell. Something was up. Something was happening. _Morty was in danger._

His feet pounded heavily against the ground as he ran all the way to the football field and to the bleachers in search of Morty. He panted, heart racing inside his chest as he looked around. The puffs of each of his exhales were visible in front of his face due to the chilly weather. 

“MORTY?!” He shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. He got no response. 

“W-where is that kid...?” He asked under his breath. 

He began walking around under the bleachers, looking in every nook and cranny. There were no signs of Morty anywhere. _Where could he be?_ He couldn’t have gone far. 

“Rick Sanchez?” A voice said, and Rick spun around to look at the source. 

Rick furrowed his brow, recognizing who they were immediately. He’d recognize that bleach-blind hair anywhere. _“Alyssa?”_ He questioned, completely confused. “What are you doing here?”

“What are _you_  doing here?” Alyssa countered, tilting her head to the side slightly in question. 

Rick sighed, looking around some more. He didn’t have time to chit chat or argue back and fourth about something so unimportant. He needed to get straight to the point. “Have you seen Morty anywhere?”

Alyssa frowned. “Who’s Marty?”

Rick groaned, grabbing at his hair in frustration. This girl was _useless_. If she couldn’t help him, she was wasting his time. “Jesus fucking _Christ_ , Alyssa, I don’t have time for your ignorant _bullshit_.”

“Whoa, hey,” Alyssa placed her hands on her hips, glaring at Rick. “What the hell, Sanchez? You don’t gotta be all rude like that. Who’s Marty?”

_“Morty,”_ Rick corrected, glaring back at her. “The short brown-haired kid you fucking pushed out of the way yesterday?” He said bitterly, still a bit sour about how she’d ruined his and Morty’s lunch the day before. “My _friend?_ Don’t you remember him?”

“Oh! That kid.” Alyssa snapped her fingers in the air as if it had finally clicked in her mind. “No, I haven’t seen him.”

“Well, if you can’t help me, then you can fuck off.” Rick said, turning away from her so he could continue searching for Morty. He didn’t care about why she was here; he just had to find Morty.

“Wait! Let me help you!” Alyssa said, running up to Rick and grabbing his shoulder. 

Rick groaned, pulling away from her. “Then fucking _start looking.”_ He spat. “He could be in danger.”

Alyssa rolled her eyes in annoyance when Rick wasn’t looking.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Morty had his backpack on as he made his way across the football field and towards the bleachers. He hadn’t actually been to the football field before because he’d never gone to any of the games. Sports weren’t ever really his thing; however, it was interesting to actually see the place.

The grass was frosted over slightly and he could see his breath in the air with each exhale, even though it was well into the middle of the day. He couldn’t stop wondering about what Rick wanted to show him. It was just so spontaneous, and he wondered why he couldn’t have told him at lunch or in the bathroom to meet him here.

Morty finally made it to the bleachers, and walked underneath them. “Rick?” He called out hesitantly, the gravel crunching nosily under his shoes. He looked around in search of Rick, only for his entire body to freeze up when he saw him. 

He stared, petrified, as he saw Rick kissing someone _right in front of him._ It felt like an eternity that he stared at them, even though it had only lasted a couple of seconds. It was that Alyssa girl from before, and she had her arms wrapped tightly around Rick’s neck, her lips pressed firmly against Rick’s. 

He quickly backed out from under the bleachers before either of the two could see him, his heart hammering inside his chest and breathing uneven. Tears flowed from his eyes so fast that he hadn’t even been able to _think_ about holding them back. He looked down at his hands as they began to tremble almost violently, and he felt like his heart was shattering inside his chest. 

Rick had _wanted_ him to see it. He told him to meet him here so that he could see this. He _wanted_ to break Morty’s heart like this _on purpose._

Rick didn’t care. He never cared. He never liked Morty. He had just been pretending this entire time. 

His felt like his entire soul was crumbling, his mind was running a mile a minute. He felt an array of confusing emotions fill him; pain, anger, heart break, fear. 

_‘Why why why,’_ His mind repeated like a mantra. How could Rick do this to him? _After everything they went through, how could he break Morty so easily? All that effort to make Morty comfortable around him, all that effort to create a bond with him, and he just turned it all around in one single, heart-shattering moment?_

He started running back towards the school, faster than he’d ever run before. His backpack bounced against his back with each large step, and he struggled to wipe away the tears that wouldn’t stop falling down his cheeks. 

How could he have been so foolish? He’d been so dumb. Stupid, _stupid_ , _**stupid.**_

He was such an idiot. He should have known Rick couldn’t have _really_ liked him. He should have _known._

_Stupid. Dumb. Idiot. Moron. Retard._

Morty blamed himself more than he blamed Rick. He blamed himself for letting his guard down, he blamed himself for being so foolish, for thinking that anyone could actually like him. He was alone, and he always had been. He always _will_ be. 

Unable to see where he was going very clearly, Morty tripped over a stray rock in the parking lot near the back door of the school, and he landed face-first into the ground, scraping both his hands and knees and hitting his head. 

He didn’t wait to assess the damage he’d inflicted on himself before he scrambled to get up from the ground, ignoring the burning pain that radiated from all of the body parts that had scraped across the rough concrete. 

He rushed his way into the school, limping slightly from the pain he felt in his scraped knees, and he hid out in a bathroom stall, sobbing quietly to himself. 

How could Rick do this to him? It was so cruel. Jessica had been right after all. How could Morty have been so blind? How could he have ever thought that _Rick Sanchez_ actually like him? 

Morty buried his face in his hands, letting out a broken sob. His entire body was trembling, and he couldn’t seem to breath properly. He knew he was having a panic attack, and he couldn’t _stop it._

His chest felt too tight, like there was a weight pressing on his chest, crushing his rib cage and lungs. He felt betrayed, used, and broken. 

He was a pathetic mess of snot and tears, sitting in the stall of a bathroom, _sobbing_ like some dumb child. So dumb. So pathetic. So _useless._

Why did he always let his guard down like that? Why did he let himself be manipulated and controlled like that? He should have seen it coming. Nobody could like him. He was so pathetic and ugly and weird and _stupid._

He wanted to go home. 

At least he’d be safe if he was there instead of here. Safe from bullies, safe from _getting his heart broken._ Safe from the reality that nobody _really_ liked him. 

Now he really knew he couldn’t trust anyone. He’d been so dumb to think he ever could. So dumb to place his trust in someone like Rick Sanchez. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Rick shoved Alyssa away harshly. “What the fuck?!” He yelled angrily, keeping her at arms length. 

She’d just grabbed him around the neck and pulled him into a kiss without warning. He’d been so shocked for a moment that he hadn’t been able to move, and it had taken him a few moments to snap out of it and push her away. 

Guilty thoughts of Morty flooded his mind, but he quickly blocked them out. He hadn’t wanted to kiss her, and he hadn’t initiated it. He didn’t have anything to feel guilty about. 

Alyssa cackled with laugher. “Oh, Rick, don’t tell me you didn’t like it.” She said, placing a hand on his chest. 

Rick pushed her back even more, backing away from her. “Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble, but I’m kind of into someone else at the moment. Speaking of which, I need to keep looking for Morty.” He didn’t care that he was basically admitting to his crush on the brunette. He just wished he could find him. 

He turned back around and continued to look for the brunette, but there wasn’t a single sign of him anywhere. Maybe Jessica had been lying? Maybe they were actually at the school?

He reached into his back pocket in search of his phone, only to find that it wasn’t there. He began patting himself down, trying to find it, but it wasn’t anywhere on his person. That’s weird. He never forgot his phone. 

Alyssa scoffed. “Rick, I _know_ you don’t like me.” She said, rolling her eyes. 

Rick turned to look back at her, an irritated expression on his face. “If you fucking knew that, why’d you kiss me?”

“Because I wanted to.” Alyssa bit her lip, looking Rick up and down like he was a piece of meat. “I’d let you fuck me anytime, y’know.”

Rick’s shoulders went tense. “Hard pass.” He said, cringing. She was hot, but Rick _definitely_ liked Morty more. He was cute, and Rick liked that. He almost flushed at that thought, but somehow managed to restrain himself. 

“I figured as much.” Alyssa laughed again, and her lips tugged upwards into a way-too-happy smile. She brushed her long blond hair over her shoulder. “Good luck, lover-boy, you have a huge storm heading your way.”

Before Rick could ask her what she meant, she started walking away. Even as he called out to her in protest, she ignored him, and Rick was left feeling frustrated and confused.

He was entirely oblivious to what just happened.

He ended skipping science class, using his free time to search for Morty. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Morty skipped science class, not wanting to run into Rick should he return from the football field. 

He looked at himself in the mirror of the boys bathroom, the water rushing in the sink in front of him. 

His palms were horribly scraped up, and he had a small cut on his forehead just above his eyebrow. It had bled a trail down the side of his face, and he splashed water on it in an attempt to wash it off. The left knee of his jeans were now torn, and his knee was bleeding. His right knee was only bruised. 

He kept blowing his nose with toilet paper, still all stuffed up from crying. His eyes were a little red and puffy, still, but he’d managed to stop crying at least. He hated crying. He looked so ugly when he cried, and it made him feel weak. 

He hoped Rick didn’t talk to him ever again. He didn’t think his heart could handle it right now. He’d need a few weeks to get used to seeing Rick in the hallway, but he knew eventually he’d be able to get over the fact that Rick didn’t actually like him. He’d gotten through this before, he could get through it again. 

It didn’t stop him from feeling completely pathetic over the fact that Rick effected him this greatly, though. He hated that the other teen had such a hold on him. 

He closed his eyes tightly when the bell sounded, signaling that science class was over. Morty wouldn’t be attending anymore classes for the rest of the day and he knew that, in order to skip, he had to leave the school during the class change. If he left during class, it would be suspicious, and he’d get caught. 

He turned the faucet off on the sink and bent down to unzip his backpack and pull his yellow hoodie out. It would make him stick out like a sore thumb, but at least it would hide his face— his red puffy eyes, and the cut above his eyebrow from the contact it made with the cement ground.

He quickly pulled it over his head and slipped it on before zipping his backpack up and throwing it over his shoulder. He pulled the hood over his head before slipping out into the hallway and into the crowd of students. 

He looked around to make sure he couldn’t see anybody he knew before he started walking down the hallway on his way to the back exit of the school. 

Morty kind of felt ashamed of himself for doing this. He was always running away from his problems... he could hardly stick up for himself, and he _hated it._ He hated getting pushed around, he hated being the stupid ‘welcome home’ rug that everyone walked all over whenever they pleased.

He wouldn’t let anyone break his heart again. He didn’t know how many more hits it could take, and he wasn’t looking to find out. 

He was nearing the exit; he could see it at the end of the hallway. He was still struggling to get through the crowd to it, though. 

“Morty?!” 

Morty went stature still. That was Rick’s voice. _Why now? Of all times?_

He slowly turned around, eyes locking on Rick, who was pushing his way through the crowd trying to get to him.

Morty turned back around, his heart beat beginning to race with fear. He had to get out of here before Rick got to him. 

He continued walking, shoving people carelessly out of the way this time, not caring who he pushed down on his way. All he knew was that he didn’t want to see Rick, and he had to get away from him.

“Morty!” Rick called again, and he sounded closer this time, even though Morty was doing his best to distance the two of them. “Morty, where are you going?!”

Morty kept pushing through the crowd; _the door was so close._ The other kids started giving both of them odd looks, obviously curious about the situation. It wasn’t any of their business, and Morty just wished they would look the other way and ignore them. 

Morty finally made it to the door, but as he reached out for the handle, a hand fell heavily on his shoulder. It was gentle, but just strong enough to stop him in his tracks.

Morty harshly shoved the hand away from him, whipping around to glare up at Rick in anger. “Fuck off, Rick!” He snapped immediately, his mouth seeming to move of its own accord. He pulled his hood down, glaring up at the taller teen. 

Rick’s eyes went from narrowed concern to wide and surprised in under a second when he saw Morty’s face. “Morty, what—“

“Shut up!” Morty snapped, balling his fists angrily at his sides. He was shaking with anger and hurt. He could feel his eyes began to sting as more tears welled up within them. “Don’t talk to me!” 

Rick just looked confused, his mouth gaping open in shock, and he kept moving it up and down as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the proper words. 

“I-I can’t even believe you!” Morty yelled. “Was this all just a joke from the start?!” 

There was a large crowd forming around them, blocking all exits, and Morty wanted to murder every one of them in that second. They were all whispering to each other in confusion, eyeing both him and Rick with scrutiny. Morty could feel all of the horrible stares bore into him, but it didn’t deplete his rage in the slightest. 

Rick finally managed to form words, his brows furrowing in confusion. “Morty, what are you talking about?”

Morty felt like his heart was tearing itself in half, and tears finally began leaking from his eyes in a steady stream. “DON’T YOU _DARE_ PLAY DUMB!” He accused, shoving Rick in the chest with a force that he hadn’t intended.

Rick stumbled back a little bit, and Morty saw a look of hurt flash across his face. _How fucking dare he be the hurt one after what he did to him._

“WAS IT FUN TO _PRETEND_ TO LIKE THE POOR GAY KID WHO DOESN’T HAVE ANY FRIENDS?!” He asked rhetorically. There was a collective gasp from everyone in the crowd, but Morty didn’t care. “WAS THIS WHAT YOU CONSIDERED _FUN?!_ DID YOU GET A GOOD KICK OUT OF HURTING ME LIKE THAT?!” He sniffled, wiping at his face with the sleeve of his hoodie. “I should have known, actually...” He said almost darkly. 

“Morty,” Rick said through his teeth, and Morty could see so many different emotions through those crystal blue eyes of his. He tried to reach out to the brunette, but Morty only slapped his hand away. Rick’s expression hardened slightly at the rejection. “What the _hell?”_

Morty growled, pain filling up inside his heart as words spilled almost unwillingly from his mouth. “I-I want you to stay away from me!” He yelled, shoving Rick in the chest again again. “Don’t ever talk to me again! I thought you were different, but you’re just an asshole like everyone else! You’re exactly like everyone else! _Why_ I ever thought we could be friends is a mystery! You’re one of the _worst_ fucking people I’ve ever met! I never want to see your stupid fucking face again!” 

Rick stumbled back again, anger evident on his face as he glared at him. He looked more and more angry with each word Morty uttered. 

“Go ahead, Rick!” Morty yelled, getting into Rick’s personal space and waving his arms around. “Fucking _hit me._ I know you want to. _Fucking do it.”_

He knew Rick wanted to. He could see it on his face. Morty was pissing him off. And he just wanted him to _do it_ already. It would be easier for Morty to hate him if he did. He _wanted_ to hate Rick so badly right now. It was killing him that he couldn’t. 

Rick just stared at him, his jaw tense and eyes narrowed slightly in an angered glare. Morty could see his hands clenched together at his sides, _shaking_ with his anger. 

The entire hallway was silent, everyone staring at them, waiting to see what would happen next. 

Morty let out a sad, broken chuckle. His eyes glazed over with tears that continued to trail down his face. He felt empty as he spoke. “It’s over, Rick.” 

If he wasn’t going to fucking hit him, there wasn’t a point to him being here anymore.

He turned, glaring so intensely at the people blocking the door that they actually parted way for him. 

 

He walked out the door without looking back.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... you guys are probably upset now. 
> 
> But this isn’t even the worst of it yet.


	13. Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourselves for violence. The angst isn’t over yet. 
> 
> Once again, sorry for the delays. I’m really stressed right now and haven’t had the time to keep up with anything. Anyway, enjoy! Even if you’re only going to hate me more after this lol.

 

Rick didn’t understand. 

_Where did he go wrong? What did he do?_

Morty had been avoiding him for _two days._

His phone was still lost, so he couldn’t text or call him, and every time he saw Morty in the hallway he turned and walked the other way. He had also been skipping science class, and hadn’t shown up to lunch. When he checked the bathroom he usually ate lunch in, he wasn’t there, either. 

Rick knew it had only been two days, but it felt like a lifetime. And Rick felt _hurt._ Morty flat out told him it was over, but he somehow didn’t understand what he’d meant. He’d thought things had been going great; they were _friends_. Morty seemed... _happy_. 

Or maybe he missed something? Maybe he’d been cruel to him without even knowing? But what had Rick done?

He had a suspicion that maybe he’d been set up. The only thing he’d done recently that could have made Morty react like that was when Alyssa kissed him. And hell, that wasn’t even his fault, but what if Morty saw him? 

He really wanted to explain the situation to him— that he pushed her away, that he hadn’t even initiated it, but Morty had been avoiding him. 

When Morty started yelling at him in the hallway, Rick had frozen up completely. He hadn’t known what to do. He was so lost, and he didn’t know how he was supposed to tell Morty _he didn’t know what he did wrong._ Because in that moment, he really hadn’t known. 

And he must have looked pissed in that moment, and he _was_. He couldn’t seem to direct his anger _at_ Morty, though. Not when his face looked all cut up and he’d been _crying_. He didn’t know how Morty ended up getting hurt, and it made him suspect that perhaps Brad really had gotten to him while he’d been talking to Alyssa. 

It made him _angry_. He didn’t know Morty’s side of the story, he didn’t know what had happened, or why he’d been hurt both emotionally and physically. He was mostly clueless.

He’d spent a whole _hour_ searching for Morty almost desperately, only to find him wandering down the hallway mostly unharmed, but completely heartbroken. 

And he’d seen that _look_ on his face— that completely torn apart expression that _screamed_ pain— and not just physical pain; the kind that you feel on the inside. The kind that rips apart your soul and eats at your heart.

Rick saw it in his _eyes._

Morty had been _hurt_. It was so obvious, and there was so much proof that Rick couldn’t deny it. He had no clue what he’d done, but Morty somehow ended up getting deeply hurt. Maybe not hurt by Rick himself, but somehow Morty thought he really was the cause of it. 

And then he’d tried to get Rick to _hit_ him. Like hell he’d ever do that to Morty— it was something that he would forever hate himself for doing. So he didn’t, even when Morty seemed like he _genuinely_ wanted Rick to hit him. 

It was such an incredulous thing for the brunette to suggest, and Rick could practically _feel_ how much he really wanted him to. It was like Morty wanted Rick to hit him so it would be easier to hate him. 

And then he was gone, just like that. Out the door. _He didn’t even look back._

Everyone had bursted into chatter immediately after the door clicked closed, and Rick could hear so many people trying to ask him why he hadn’t fought back. He always fought back. He never let anyone stand up to him and get away with it, and the entire school was completely shocked and confused and freaking out, but damnit, _Morty was a different case._

There’s no way he’d ever beat up Morty, but the entire school was screaming at him, and he felt like he was falling into a dark hole in the ground, and each word that came from their mouths was another grain of dirt that they shoveled into the hole, slowly burying him alive. He’d been overwhelmed and confused and hurt, and he _couldn’t fucking handle it anymore._

And that’s when he’d finally snapped and released his rage on everyone, screaming at the top of his lungs, so loud that it could easily be heard over everyone’s chatter.

He couldn’t remember what he screamed, but it had been angry and harsh, and the people near him had backed away from him in shock. He almost ended up punching a dude that had been standing just a little too close to him, but he managed to restrain himself. 

That’s when a teacher had finally intervened, forcing the crowd to disperse and head to class. Rick went back and fourth between fuming with rage, and wallowing in confusion. He blocked the rest of the world out, trying to figure out what on earth he’d done to hurt Morty like that, but he couldn’t quite place it. 

It had been two days since then.

Rick had his forehead pressed against the table, his eyes closed tightly as he mauled over everything that’s happened in the last couple of days.

Bird was sitting across from him and Squanchy was sitting next to him.

Bird cleared his throat, trying to gain his friend’s attention. “I would suggest speaking with him, but he has been quite effectively avoiding you.”

Rick groaned in annoyance, lifting his head to glare at his friend. Like he needed a reminder. “Don’t tell me what I already know, Brandon.”

“Dude, chillax,” Squanchy said, rolling his eyes. “You don’t gotta take this out on him. He’s just tryin’ to talk to ya.”

“I _am_ fuckin’ chill.” Rick grumbled, turning to the ginger with a sour expression. “I’m _so_ chill. _You’re_ the one that needs to chill.” He poked his friend in the chest rather harshly with his index finger. “Don’t go telling me what the fuck to do, idiot.”

“Rick, you’re been an asshole.” Squanchy frowned, rubbing at the spot that Rick had poked him. 

“I’M NOT—“ Rick cut himself off with a growl of frustration. “Just don’t fucking talk to me.” He said, turning away from them and resting his head in his hand as he continued to seethe under his skin. 

He was completely on edge. Ever since Morty yelled at him, he’s not only had to deal with his own confusing emotions, but he’s also had to deal with a flood of personal questions from random people.

A few people had called Rick a wimp for not beating the ever-loving shit out of Morty for talking to him the way he had. He knew he had a reputation to uphold, but he refused to beat up Morty. They continued to tease and taunt him as he tried to just walk away from the situation, but they wouldn’t stop, so Rick promptly punched them in the face after that. It had only been two days, and yet... he’s punched about four people so far and been sent to detention once. 

He could always hear people whispering about it, too, as if they thought he was too far away to hear them. The talked a lot about how Rick had lost his marbles, which was annoying, because he _didn’t_. He was just unbelievably stressed. 

Brandon and Sam have been doing all they can to help him by keeping other people away from him and such, but Rick has been a jerk to them rather consistently. 

They were good friends, but Rick just wished they’d stand up to him a little more, rather than stand up _for_ him. He didn’t deserve their help. They didn’t need to take care of him when he was being so shitty towards them, and yet they did. 

He was frustrated and _tired,_ and he just wanted to see Morty again. He just wanted to talk to him and figure out what the hell happened. 

He wanted to hold him, and tell him everything would be okay. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Morty was doing everything he could possibly do to avoid Rick. He had a whole fool-proof plan set up in his head for this specific mission.

Firstly, Morty now carried _all_ of his books at once. He’d pulled out a bigger backpack from deep inside of his closet so all of the books could fit inside; this way, he didn’t have a reason to go to his locker at all. It did make him way more winded when switching classes, but it was worth it. He decided that from then on he wouldn’t ever need a locker again. 

Next, he stopped hiding out in any bathrooms at lunch. Instead, he ate his lunch on the roof of the school. He had felt extremely lucky when he’d found out that the janitor never seemed to lock the door for the staircase that lead to the roof. Rick would never think to look for him there.

Lastly, he started going with his previous plan to literally just skip his science class altogether. For the rest of the year. It’s not like the teacher even took roll, and he didn’t care if he failed that class because he already has Bs and Cs in all of his other classes. 

He sometimes saw Rick in the hallway, but he managed to quickly turn himself around and escape each time so that he wouldn’t have an encounter with him. Then he’d just find another route to his class. 

It actually took a lot of work avoiding one person, Morty had to admit. But the last thing he wanted to do was talk to Rick. 

Unfortunately, there’s been a bunch of people bullying him about the whole incident that went down on Tuesday. He felt entirely embarrassed about it, too. He’d literally announced to the whole school that he was gay in a fit of anger and rage. He had just been so _angry_ , and he hadn’t cared at the time. 

He was _out of the closet._ It sounded so weird inside his head. And he’s not even gay! He liked girls, too... but now everyone thought he just straight-up liked boys. He hadn’t wanted to come out in that way. In fact, he basically hadn’t wanted to come out at all. He never thought he’d make it out of the closet, but now here he was... he could only guess that half the school had already deemed him ‘the gay kid.’

He just hoped nobody stereotyped him by assuming he acted super gay and flashy, though. He was just Morty Smith, a normal high school student who just so happened to like boys just as much as girls. 

Of course, there were men out there (straight and gay) that had that ‘gay best friend’ attitude, and he had absolutely nothing against them, but it just wasn’t _him_. It tended to be assumed that every day guy acted like that, when really, it was very far from the truth.

Thankfully, the worst he’d gotten out of the bullying was random people calling him a faggot. He didn’t get confronted worse than that, but he could only guess the reason was because Rick hadn’t beaten him up. The most brutal person in the school, Rick Sanchez, _hadn’t_ beaten him up when he stood up to him, and now people were almost too afraid to confront him. How bizarre was that?

The brunette was sure just about anyone in the school could easily beat him up, but since he stood up to Rick and walked away without a scratch, people had sort of placed him on an untouchable pedestal. He just wondered how long that position would last before someone realized he really was just a scrawny little kid. 

What Morty hated about this entire situation the most was the fact that, even after what Rick did, he _missed_ him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t bring himself to hate Rick. He wanted to hate him _so badly_ that it hurt. But he couldn’t, and it made Morty feel entirely dejected inside. 

It had only been two days so far, but he could already feel himself wanting to go to Rick again. He knew he couldn’t, though. Not after what happened on Tuesday. Not after all the things he’d said, and not after what Rick had done. 

It hurt to know that Rick must have done it on purpose, too. It wasn’t even specifically the fact that Rick kissed someone else that hurt him— that sort of thing happens, he guessed. And they weren’t even dating. 

But Rick sent text messages asking Morty to _meet him there,_ like he’d _wanted_ Morty to see him kissing someone else. It was a cruel, impractical joke, and Morty was still heart broken. He could believe Rick had actually done that to him. 

He’d also overheard a bunch of things about Rick getting into fights, which he honestly tried to block out, but couldn’t. 

Morty sat on the roof of the school, his legs crossed and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his hands that he ate from almost bitterly. He could feel tears fill up his eyes for what felt like the millionth time. Every time he was alone, he could barely manage to hold them back. He _hated_ crying so fucking much, but when he was alone it was pretty much pointless to hold them back. 

One stray tear trailed down his face, and he shoved a large bite of his sandwich into his mouth, trying not to think about it. He felt alone all over again, and it was _just_ when he was beginning to truly trust Rick. 

He’d thought that Rick was different. Maybe he was just one of those people who were really charming at first, but eventually end up showing their true colors, which aren’t exactly as charming as you thought they were. He guessed when you looked at someone though rose colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags. 

And _god_ , even if Rick apologized to him and somehow made up for what he did, Morty didn’t think he’d be able to face him ever again. Sure, what Rick did was shitty, but Morty couldn’t stop thinking about all of the things _he’d_ said. Morty still cared about Rick— he still _missed_ him. That’s why Morty felt a deep sense of regret and guilt in the words that had spewed from his mouth when he’d yelled at Rick.

He knew it was justified— actually, he felt too guilty to know if it was _really_ justified— but it still made him feel bad when his heart still couldn’t stop aching for Rick. He’d never yelled at someone like that. He’d yelled at Summer, but never with that much _anger_ — that much emotion and hurt and _pain._

He regretted every word even though he knew he had every right to say them (maybe). He just wished he and Rick could have separated silently, without any kind of emotional breakdowns in front of the entire school— because that’s basically what it had been: a huge fucking emotional breakdown. 

Morty took another bite of his sandwich, chewing harder than was necessary as he tried to think about something else. 

He practically jumped out of his own skin when the door leading back down into the school suddenly swung wide open. He stared with wide eyes, half of his sandwich still in his mouth, as someone stepped out into the sunlight. He felt even more surprised when he saw their face— _Summer_.

She looked around curiously for a moment before her eyes landed on Morty, who was sitting in front of an air vent eating his lunch. “How did I know you’d be up here, little bro?” She asked rhetorically, chuckling lightly. 

Morty struggled to chew and swallow before he spoke up. “W-what’re you doing here?” He asked, wiping at his face so she couldn’t see the wet trails his tears had left behind. 

“Obviously looking for you, dummy.” She said, walking to stand in front of him. “So Rick cheated on you, didn’t he?”

Morty glared up at her. He didn’t want any lectures or ‘I told you so’s. “We were never dating, Summer.” He grumbled. 

Summer laughed softly, leaning against the air vent next to Morty and sliding down to sit with him. She threw her bag down on the ground next to her. “Listen, Morty...” She said, rubbing at her arm absentmindedly. Her half-joking attitude suddenly seemed to shift, and she looked over at Morty with furrowed brows. “I feel like it’s about time I apologize.”

Morty didn’t look at her. He couldn’t trust _anyone_. Not even family. “Y-you don’t need to, Summer. Doesn’t matter anyway.” He took another bite from his sandwich. 

Summer frowned at him. “It matters to me, Morty...”

Morty sighed. He didn’t want Summer to apologize. It was pointless— words and promises were always pointless and empty. “Y-you shouldn’t have to apologize for just being w-who you are, Summer. It’s _fine.”_

Summer groaned, letting her head fall back against the air vent. She was obviously getting frustrated over Morty’s deflection of her apologies. “You know Morty, you’re so annoying sometimes.” She said, slumping her shoulders slightly. “But I guess that’s just what family’s like...”

Morty still wouldn’t look at her, and he continued to eat his lunch as if she weren’t even there. What had gotten into her? She was acting all weird, and Morty was just tired.

But even so, her company somehow made him feel marginally better.

“Mind telling me what happened with Rick?” She asked hesitantly. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to...”

Morty frowned, finally turning to look at her with a half-hearted glare. “It’s none of your business, Summer.”

Summer rose her hands up in defense for a second. “I kind of figured that’s what you would say.” She reached for her bag and pulled something out. “But... you remember when my ex-boyfriend Ethan dumped me? And you used your birthday money to buy me ice cream?”

Morty looked at what was in her hand. It was one of those very small tubs of ice scream that they sold in the cafeteria. The ones that were in that styrofoam container. It was chocolate flavored. Morty laughed, a smile splitting across his face at the sight. “Y-you remember that?” He asked.

“Of course I do.” Summer said smugly, handing the ice cream over to him. “I guess... it’s about time I repay you. Sorry...” 

Morty shook his head. “It’s alright. It doesn’t matter.” He peeled back the paper lid and looked into the cup. The ice cream was half-melted inside. He chuckled, shaking his head.

Summer peered over his shoulder to see what he was laughing about. She hissed through her teeth at the sight of the half-melted ice cream. “Oh, sorry about that... took me a while to find you.” 

Morty’s amused smile slowly fell from his face, and he turned to look at Summer. He didn’t really care about the melted ice cream. It’s the thought that counts, right? “Y-you know, Summer...” He said, biting his lip. “I’m sorry for a lot of things, too...”

Summer waved him off. “Don’t even, Morty. We both know you were only an ass because I was a bitch. You’re not really the one who needs to apologize for stuff...” 

Morty continued to look at Summer with a sad, longing expression. He felt guilt cease his heart, entwining around it like a thorn-covered vine. “I-I don’t deserve your apologies...” He said, voice wavering slightly as tears formed in his eyes. 

Summer’s eyes widened. “Whoa, Morty... are you okay?”

_“Fuck,”_ Morty said under his breath, turning away from her so he could wipe at his eyes again. He couldn’t fall apart in front of her. _He couldn’t._ “I-I’m sorry, I just— I’m _fine._ N-never mind, okay? I never said anything.”

Summer placed a hand on his shoulder, but she didn’t say anything to him. Only looked at him with a worried expression.

Morty shifted away from her. “I-I’m _fine_.” He said again. “Really, I am...” His words were a lie in every way, shape, and form, but what else was he supposed to do? _Tell the truth?_

No, he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t let his guard down like he had with Rick. He couldn’t allow himself to get hurt like this again. And he wanted to be fine, so that’s what he was going to be. Fake it ‘till you make it, right? 

Summer sighed, shaking her head. “Look, Morty,” She said, pushing herself to stand, carrying her bag with her. Morty didn’t look up at her, only staring at the ground as he focused on keeping his tears from falling. “I vaguely heard what happened. Only that Rick had apparently cheated on you, or something along those lines. I’ve also heard a lot about Rick pretending to like you as some cruel joke. I don’t know what’s true, they are only rumors, after all... but none of that stuff sounds like something Rick would do. Sure, he’s an asshole in pretty much every way, but deep down, he’s a good person.”

She looked down at her brother, brows drawn together as she continued. “It’s part of why I liked him so much. And I know that’s why you liked him so much, too...” 

“Summer—“ Morty began to protest, but his sister cut him off before he could get another word out.

“—I think you should talk to him.” She said earnestly. “I did some snooping around. I think Jessica set him up.”

Morty’s eyes shot up to Summer’s, and his mouth gaped for a couple of moments before he finally managed to get something out. “I-I thought— _wait,_ I’m so confused...” His fingers curled tightly around the styrofoam cup. He was completely and entirely lost for more than a couple of reasons. “I-I— don’t you— I thought you didn’t want me t-to go anywhere near him, why are you trying to help me? Or—or, wait, is this a joke? Because, if it is, Summer, I’ve already had to deal with—“

“It’s not a joke.” Summer held up her hand to stop him. Morty clamped his mouth shut, wanting to listen to what she had to say. “I-I’ve been doing some... _thinking_ , Morty. And... and I’m not particularly _happy_ that my _bisexual brother_ stole my crush from me, but... Rick never liked me to begin with. That ship was literally destined to crash. And I kind of have a feeling that you tried to, I don’t know, avoid falling in love?” She rose a brow at him.

Morty looked at the ground, nodding slowly. He wasn’t sure he _loved_ Rick, exactly, but he did _really really_ like him. Like, more than as just a friend. _Way_ more than a friend. But he gussed what Summer said was true. Morty hadn’t _wanted_ to fall for Rick like he had, and he’d tried to deny it all the way up until the point that he couldn’t anymore. _If only Rick hadn’t kissed him that night. And flirted with him. And been so nice to him. And been an amazing friend. And continued to kiss him._

Summer gave him a soft smile. “You can’t choose who you love, Morty.” She said. “And you fell for him, wether you like it or not... and I’m pretty sure he fell for you, too. Just talk to him, alright? I’m sure he didn’t mean you any harm.”

Morty frowned, shaking his head. He felt more tears form in his eyes, and he sniffled, curling into himself slightly as he tried to hold them back. His eyes were starting to hurt from the build up. “I-I don’t think I can face him...”

Summer sighed again. “Then let _him_ talk to you. Tomorrow, actually go to lunch.” She nudged him with her arm. “Let _him_ go to _you._ I’m sure he will. You should really see him at lunch, Morty, he looks so miserable all the time. It’s not like him.”

Morty squeezed his eyes shut, his eyes stinging. “I-I don’t want to talk about this, Summer.” 

Summer looked at her brother worriedly. “I know you don’t, Morty. But promise me you’ll try just once? It doesn’t have to be this week, but just... try it, alright?”

Morty sniffled again, taking in a deep, shaky breath. “O-okay...” He said. “I-I’ll try to talk to him... n-next week, on Friday.”

It was Thursday right now, so that gave him eight days to prepare himself. He could handle that, right? A week and one day?

“Good.” Summer said simply, and she started walking back towards the door. “My friends are waiting for me back in the lunch room, but I’ll see you at home, yeah?”

“Y-yeah...” Morty nodded.

Summer rose her hand and gestured at Morty with a peace sign before leaving the roof and heading back down into the school. 

He zipped up his lunch box and set it to the side with all of the food that he’d packed earlier this morning. He wasn’t hungry anymore. 

Could Rick really have been set up? He’d never given the idea any thought before. It seemed so impossible— he was used to always being betrayed and hurt, and each time, it was always on purpose and not some elaborate set-up. 

He’d looked over the text messages several times, and there was no doubt about it that _Rick_ had sent those messages. At the top of the chat, it clearly showed his profile picture. 

It was so hard for him to believe that Rick hadn’t done it on purpose, though. His confidence and self-esteem was so low to the point that he always just assumed no one could like him. Most of the time he even had proof. 

But if Rick really had been set up, how was Morty supposed to apologize for all the things he’d said? How was he supposed to apologize when all the words he’d said had basically been for no reason? If Rick hadn’t hated him before, he definitely hated him now. 

Morty pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes until he could see stars, trying to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do now. There were so many different things that could be going on, and the truth behind this whole ordeal was so blurred that Morty was starting to think that he might need _glasses._

He heard the bell ring in the distance, and he sighed heavily, wishing that he had more time to himself.

His entire body felt unbelievably heavy as he pulled himself to his feet and started making his way to the door. 

It was time for more elaborate evasive moves to avoid Rick, he guessed. At least, until he forced himself to talk to Rick next Friday.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Later in the day, Morty had been about to walk into the library, in search of a book he needed for his English class, when he nearly crashed directly into Brad, who was standing at the entrance. 

It was during class, and his teacher had written him a note so he could come here. He hadn’t expected to run into Brad at all. 

Morty’s eyes widened in fear for a moment upon seeing him, and he backed away, trying to let the other pass through the door first so they wouldn’t have any conflict. But the other teen just stared at him, anger evident in his eyes as he glared at the brunette. 

_“Mortimer,”_ Brad spat, saying his name as if it were the most disgusting thing he’d ever heard. “It’s about time we have a little chat.”

Morty laughed nervously, not seeming to understand. “Uh, what?” His eyes darted both ways down the hallway nervously. _What was he supposed to do right now? Run?_

Brad didn’t respond, and instead lunged forward, grabbing the smaller teen by the hair. Morty yelped out in pain as Brad started dragging him down the hallway and away from the library.

“W-What the hell?!” Morty exclaimed in confused fear, stumbling along as Brad continued to drag him along. He clawed at the other’s hands, trying to get him to release his brown curls. He didn’t have a choice but to follow because each time he tried to pull away, Brad only tightened his hold on his hair and pulled harder. 

Brad kicked open a door that had the word ‘exit’ shining above it and pulled Morty outside with him. The smaller teen continued to struggle slightly, his heart pounding a mile a minute as the cold air outside seeped all the way down to his bones. 

Fear surged through him when he realized that no one would be here to save him this time. _He was alone._ He didn’t have anybody to back him up. He didn’t have anybody that cared enough to come and find him. 

Brad finally released his hair, but before Morty could even react, he quickly shoved him harshly against the brick wall, one arm pressed firmly against his chest to keep him in place. The wind was knocked out of him, and for a moment he struggled to suck oxygen back into his lungs.

“You think you can just hang out with Jessica, huh?!” Brad leaned in close to his face, baring his teeth like a rabid wolf.

Morty gasped for breath. “W-... what...” He wheezed. “W-w-what a-are you—... you talking about?”

He hadn’t been hanging out with Jessica. Not _really._ Sure, she’d talked to him on Monday by his locker, and she sat with him at lunch for a short while. But that was it, right? He didn’t understand why Brad was so upset; he didn’t even like Jessica anymore! 

“Don’t play dumb with me, you _shit!”_ Brad snarled in his face, and Morty winced when a few drops of spit landed on his cheek. “You know exactly what I’m talking about!”

Morty had _no clue_ what he was talking about. “I-If you wanna beat me up, just get it o-over with!” He yelled, squirming in Brad’s hold. The faster this was over, the better. He just wanted him to bring it on already, just _punch him._ He didn’t care. _He just wanted him to get it over with._

“ _Oh,_  I’ll do better than beat you up, _fag_.” A grin split its way across Brad’s face as he talked. “How about I...” Brad suddenly grabbed his crotch, and Morty gasped so loudly he was almost convinced the whole school could hear it. 

“NO!” Morty shouted, trying to kick at Brad, tears rapidly forming in his eyes. “LET ME GO! _LET ME GO!”_ He couldn’t believe this was happening, _oh god, please let this all just be a nightmare._

He couldn’t believe Brad was doing this. _How fucking sick was this guy?_ Was he really going to molest him? He couldn’t let that happen. _Fuck, this wasn’t good!_

Brad cackled with laughter, releasing Morty’s crotch. “Nah, I’m not gonna do that. I ain’t a sick little faggot like you.” He sneered. 

Morty let out a sob of relief, tears trailing down his face. _He couldn’t believe that almost just happened. Holy shit. What the fuck. Everything was moving way too fast right now._

“I’ve got a better plan than that.” Brad said, reaching into his coat with his free hand.

Morty watched in horror as he pulled out a pocket knife, and he had flashbacks to when Frank had done the same thing to him. He saw his own fearful eyes reflect through the blade; he could see how wet his cheeks already were from the tears. “Y-you can’t be s-serious...” Morty’s voice was trembling with fear. 

“Oh, I’m fucking _serious,_ alright.” Brad growled, showing off the blade in front of Morty’s face. “Frank had been _so close_ to doing it, you know... but back then, you had your precious lover-boy there to save you. Now you don’t, and I plan on finishing Frank’s job for him. He’d been so dumb to try it where anybody could see, but out here, we won’t be interrupted.”

“Y-you’re insane!” Morty yelled. No one is going to save him. No one is there for him. He’s alone. “Y-you can’t do this! Think about t-t-this! _Please!”_

“Oh, I’ve thought about it plenty of times, and I’ve been _waiting_ for the perfect moment.” Brad said, slowly and lightly dragging the knife down Morty’s chest and towards his stomach. “You _deserve_ this, Mortimer Smith. I can’t have you steal _my_ girl.” 

“I-I don’t like Jessica!” Morty stammered desperately, struggling against his hold. “I-I don’t like her! _Please!_ J-Just let me g-g-go! I won’t go near her! Y-you’ve made your point!”

Brad grimaced, growling in Morty’s face lowly. “Oh, so you think she’s ugly? How _dare_ you insult her?!” 

Morty shook his head back and forth, shaking where he stood. He just couldn’t win. Life could never let him win. “ _Please_ , don’t do this...” He pleaded, desperation in his voice. 

He hated that everything he said got twisted around like that. _Why did everyone have to do that to him? Why did everyone have to hate him so much?_

Brad was silent for a short while, but Morty could see how tense he grew in those short few seconds, could _see_ how the anger built up inside of him. He looked Morty dead in the eyes, and the brunette could see pure _hatred_ inside of them. “I’ve always _fucking_ hated you, Morty.”

In the next moment, Morty felt a sharp, burning pain explode from his abdomen, and he let out a startled scream, his body spasming as he tried so desperately to get away from the cause of it. 

He looked down in horror to see the knife buried all the way into him, Brad’s hand firmly grasped around the handle. Blood was already pooling from it, staining the yellow shirt he was wearing with a crimson _red._

There was a sickening _shick!_ sound that echoed inside Morty’s ears as Brad pulled the knife out of him, and he fell to his knees on the cold, cement ground, hands shaking as he cradled the injured area. 

Brad was standing in front of him, eyes wide and horror etched on his face. He looked down at Morty, who was writhing on the ground, and then to the blood-covered knife. He seemed horrified by what he’d done, looking back and forth between Morty and the knife like he just couldn’t process what was happening. 

In another moment, he bolted off in another direction, leaving Morty alone behind the school. 

The brunette sobbed, feeling the pain in his abdomen ripple through him. His breathing was erratic, entirely unstable, and the patch of blood on his shirt was growing very quickly. He fumbled his phone from his back pocket, hands shaking so bad he could barely manage to click the home button. 

He desperately tried to type in his passcode, but his hands kept trembling, and they were covered in blood, so his fingers would only slide against the screen, unable to press anything. He was completely _useless_. Couldn’t even call anyone for help when he was literally _dying_.

He dropped his phone on the ground, completely forgetting about it, and he curled into himself, pressing his hands into the stab wound to try and stop the blood from flowing. It gushed out from between his fingers like a waterfall. 

He couldn’t focus, _couldn’t think._ He was gonna die at his school, _how pathetic._ Maybe he deserved this. What a sad life he’d had— _after everything he’d been through, it was all going to end like **this?** Why? Why did this have to happen to him? Why did his life have to end so tragically, so **pathetically?**_

Morty hated his life. He hated everything about himself. He was completely useless— just a big waste of space compared to everyone else. Maybe it was entirely justified that this was happening to him. Maybe the universe was finally correcting the horrible mistake it made in creating him. 

The universe would be better off without him, and even though he knew that, he was _terrified_.

He was going to die here, cold and alone. His body would probably be left here for a couple of days before anyone found him, and he was going to smell of rot, and his blood was going to be dry and crusty, and whoever found him was going to be disgusted. _He was going to die._

He didn’t want to die, _he was so scared._ Despite everything, despite how miserable this life made him feel, he wanted to _live._

God, _please,_ he didn’t want to die. Not now, and definitely not _here._ Of all places, _please, god, he couldn’t die here._

 

* * *

 

 

Squanchy was stressed out. 

Rick was constantly miserable without Morty, and his teachers were being annoying. He walked down the hallway, both of his hands shoved into his pockets. He just needed to take a few hits, and he’d be good for the day. 

He had a joint in his pocket, and he’s skipping his current class just so he could smoke it. He couldn’t tell if his teachers either didn’t care that he smelled like weed, or just didn’t notice. ‘Cause he was pretty sure he _always_ smelled like weed. 

He slandered up to the exit next to the library and pushed it open, exiting into the chilly fall air. It was a nice, cold day, and since everyone was in class, it was sure to be nice and quiet out here. Perfect for smoking a few hits. 

He was about to pull his joint out when he heard a soft whimper come from somewhere to the left of him. He furrowed his brows, looking towards the source of the sound in confusion.

His eyes widened when he recognized Morty. He was sitting on the ground, his arms wrapped firmly against his stomach.

“Morty?” Squanchy questioned, making his way over to the brunette.

Morty flinched upon hearing him, his head snapping up in his direction so quickly Sam was sure the kid got whiplash from it.  

Sam could clearly see tears in his eyes, and he was shaking so badly that somehow the ginger  _knew_ he was in pain.

“ _Whoa,_ what’s wrong?” He asked quickly, approaching the brunette worriedly. “You okay, man?”

“S-...Sam...” Morty’s hiccuped. His voice sounded so weak, so _desperate_. He slowly pulled his arms away from his stomach, revealing that he was _covered_  in blood.

Squanchy slid down to the ground, crouching down in front of the other teen in a panic. He pulled his phone from his pocket and quickly speed-dialed Brandon before pressing the phone between his ear and his shoulder. He then slowly moved Morty’s hands out of the way so he could press his own into the wound. 

Morty cried out in pain as Squanchy pressed down much harder than Morty had been pressing, and he spewed unintelligible pleas for him to stop. _It hurt so much_. He tried to push his hands away, but he was too weak. 

“ _Fuck_ , this is bad.” Sam said, waiting desperately for Brandon to pick up. The phone only rang three times before he answered. “Oh, thank god! Okay, listen to me _right now,_ Brandon, there’s no time to explain. I don’t care what you’re doing right now, but I need you to fucking get yourself and Rick to the exit door next to the library! It’s an emergency!”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Morty saw black spots dancing in his vision, and he couldn’t tell if it was from blood loss or pain, but he knew it wasn’t a good sign. He could vaguely understand that Sam was on his phone, but he couldn’t seem to register what he was saying into it. _Was he calling an ambulance? Would he even be able to stay alive long enough for them to get here?_

Morty’d been sitting alone, quickly bleeding out over a seemingly long period of time. He had no idea how long he’d been out here— it felt like _hours,_  so he wasn’t even sure he could make it much longer. Everything hurt so much, and the world around him was staring to become distorted with each passing second. His fingers and toes felt numb, and Morty knew— somewhere in the back of his head— that wasn’t a good thing. 

Sam kept trying to talk to him. He kept saying stuff Morty didn’t have the focus to understand or register. _He just wanted the pain to stop._ It was all he could think about. _He just wanted the pain to stop. He didn’t want to die. Why did this have to happen?_

Minutes passed as Sam pressed his hands into the wound on Morty’s stomach, the pain radiating from that area in shockwaves. It hurt to much, and Morty pleaded him to stop, but he wouldn’t. Somewhere, buried deep inside his mind, he knew Sam was only trying to stop the bleeding, but he didn’t care about that. _All he wanted was for the pain to stop._

He saw someone else’s head block the sunlight. It caused a halo of light to outline their body, and when he saw the shape of their spiked, crazy hair, he knew exactly who it was. 

“R-Rick...” Morty whimpered through his silent sobs. He completely forgot about the horrible things Rick had done to him for the time being, and he reached out for the older teen desperately. He wanted to apologize for the things he’d said. He was so _scared_ — scared that those cruel words would be the last things he’d ever say to him. _Scared_ that he’d die alone and that Rick would continue to hate him. 

Rick crouched down in front of him quickly, worry and concern on his face. He looked horrified, but there was anger there, too— Morty could tell Rick was livid somewhere under his skin, even with how distorted everything else around him seemed. He couldn’t blame Rick for being upset with him. 

_Morty deserved this_. 

But then Rick was pulling away again, and Morty heard him say something about moving him, and then a bright, green light suddenly sprung from seemingly thin air. 

The light was blinding. Morty wanted to shield his eyes, but he couldn’t, so he whimpered, squinting his eyes to hide from the intensity. _What was that light? Where did it come from?_ His mind was struggling to process what it was. _Was he hallucinating? Is this the kind of stuff people saw when they were dying?_

Brandon was there, too, Morty noticed, and the three friends argued about something Morty couldn’t keep up with for a few short moments, angered, panicked expressions on their faces. 

When they finally settled on an agreement, Rick crouched down in front of him again, one arm slipping under his knees, and the other behind his back. 

As Rick lifted him from the ground, Morty screamed out in pain, his chest heaving as the feeling seemed to shoot down every part of his body. His vision nearly went completely black from the force of it. 

The green light, that Morty just couldn’t seem to make sense of inside of his head, was still shining brightly in front of them, and it was getting brighter with each step Rick took. Morty shivered against Rick, hands desperately curling around the fabric of his shirt as he tried to shield his eyes. Rick’s sent surrounded him, and it would have managed to calm him, too, if not for the fact that it was accented by the sharp, metallic sent of his own blood. 

“You’re okay, Morty, you’re gonna be okay.” Rick said to him, somewhere close to his ear, voice soft and reassuring. “I-I promise.”

It was the clearest thing he’d ever heard before, and before he knew it, everything went black.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you guys the angst wasn’t over yet.


	14. I Missed You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rick and Morty have a talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof, sorry this is like super late. I was gonna update this like two weeks ago, but then I got some bad news, and this whole thing got pushed back further than it already was. Been pretty down with everything happening in life right now, so it’s been hard to write/edit. Anyway, I really do hope you guys enjoy this chapter! I really liked writing this one!

 

Morty sat upright in a panic, eyes flying open and a gasp of air almost painfully invading his lungs. The drowsiness from his sleep left him the moment his eyes opened, as if he’d woken up from a nightmare. But he couldn’t remember what he’d dreamt about. 

His eyes darted around, panic surging through him at the unfamiliarity he felt— he couldn’t remember going to bed. He took a moment to breathe, trying to calm his hammering heart. It took him a few moments, eyes darting around the room without fully processing it— all he could really see was a blur of colors. He was completely panicked, unsure if his surroundings. He felt like he was in danger, but he couldn’t remember why. 

_Why was he in danger?_

He closed his eyes tightly, trying to focus on his breathing and his heart rate. _He had to calm down. He had to be calm_. Panicking wasn’t going to help him. _He had to focus. He had to figure out where he was and what was happening._

He slowly opened his eyes once he felt he was calm enough, and he looked around. It wasn’t a blur of colors anymore. It was a solid picture of reality. 

He was in a bed— well, it was more of a cot? There was a thin, green blanket covering him, and he lifted it up to find that he was _shirtless_. He gasped, quickly pulling the blanket up over his chest. His cheeks began to heat up immediately. He never slept without a shirt on— he just wasn’t that kind of guy. That had to mean that _someone else_ undressed him.

God, where the fuck even was he? _What was happening?_

He looked around the room. It had to be someone’s bedroom. The walls were an off-white color, and it had... blueprints?... stung up all over them. There was a desk cluttered with soda cans, beer bottles, and papers. 

There was a dirty laundry basket in the corner, and a trash can overflowing with crumbled up papers. The closet was cracked open slightly, but Morty couldn’t see inside of it. He slowly sat up more, trying to remember how he’d gotten here, and where _here_ even was.

The last thing he remembered was...

Morty’s breath caught in his throat as an image of _Brad_ formed inside of his mind. He remembered Brad dragging him out the exit, and he remembered him slamming him against the wall... and he remembered... _the knife._

He pulled the blanket up, looking down at his stomach where there should be some sort of injury. He saw a patch of bandages just left of his belly button. He held his breath as he carefully prodded at the bandages with his index and middle finger.

A hiss escaped his mouth at the soreness. But was that all? He’d been stabbed, and even though that’s never happened to him before, he knew it had to be more painful than that, right? 

Or... _wait_ , how long had he even been unconscious? He knew he wasn’t on painkillers; that stuff had to make you woozy, right? _He wasn’t woozy or tired or dizzy, so how the hell was he not in an unbearable amount of pain?_

Where was he? Why was he _here?_ Why wasn’t he in a fucking hospital?! Or, at the very least, why wasn’t he _home?_

Morty felt a headache brew inside his head as so many questions invaded his thoughts, and he placed a hand on his forehead, taking in deep, gulping breaths of air. 

_Nothing was making any sense._ He needed answers. _Now_. 

He looked around the room again, trying to find something that could hint to literally _anything_ that could be useful. 

He hesitantly pulled the green blanket off of his lap, cringing when he noticed that the only garment of clothes he was wearing currently were his _boxers_. He shivered uncomfortably. 

Awkwardly, he slipped off of the cot and stood, his legs shaking under his own weight. His body was weak, which wasn’t a surprise as much as it was an inconvenience. Maybe he could find some food to help get his energy up. Or maybe he should get some water first, he rationalized, noticing that his throat was very dry. He swallowed heavily, and it helped, but not enough to really elevate the dryness. 

He shakily made his way over to the desk, looking down at the papers on top of it. Some of them were more blueprints. He picked one of them up, looking at the detailed drawings of weird-looking contraptions and scribbled writing. 

The one he was holding looked like some sort of gun. The title said _‘Portal Gun,’_  and it made Morty frown at the absurdity of such a thing. As far as he knew, portals only existed in fantasy and sci-fi novels. They didn’t exist in real life, and they probably never would. Maybe in several million years, but definitely not in his own lifetime. 

Morty jumped when a loud shout sounded from somewhere else in the house. He couldn’t understand what they were saying; it was too muffled through the walls. But the voice sounded... _familiar_. 

His eyes widened as recognition came slamming into his brain. “N-No, it can’t be him...” He whispered under his breath, feeling even more confused and astounded than before. 

The brunette placed the blueprint back down onto the table and reached for the door nob. He hesitated, going back to grab the blanket and wrapping it around himself to cover his body. He was pretty much naked— the blanket would be the only thing to keep his body from the eyes of others. He reached for the nob again, slowly opening the thankfully silent door.

He cautiously stepped out into a hallway, looking back and fourth as he tried to figure out what direction he should go. He could still hear yelling, and it was _definitely_ who he thought it was. He’d recognize his voice anywhere. 

“What the fuck was I supposed to do, Sam?!” Morty heard would could be none other than _Rick Sanchez_ shout. _“Let him die?!”_

Morty felt like his heart almost stopped from those words. He crept out into the hallway, standing on his toes in an attempt to keep quiet. He made his way towards the sound of the arguing. 

“No! Of course not, Rick! But you should have taken him to a hospital!” Sam screamed back. “C’mon, back me up, Brandon!”

“THE DOCTORS WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SAVE HIM!” 

Morty paused in the hallway, feeling his heart hammer inside his chest. He’d never heard Rick sound so upset before, and what they were saying wasn’t making any sense. How could bringing him _here_ be better than a hospital?

“YOU DON’T FUCKING KNOW THAT, RICK!” Sam shouted back, sounding on the edge of hysteria.

“ _EXACTLY!_ BUT I KNEW I COULD SAVE HIM, SO I DID!”

Morty placed a hand over the bandages on his stomach, trying to figure out _what the fuck_ they were talking about. There’s no way anything Rick had could work better than what was in a hospital. _This whole thing was so fucking weird. Was he fucking hallucinating? Was he dreaming?_

“Rick, you are acting brash.” Bird’s voice was as calm and monotonous as always.

“SHUT THE FUCK _UP,_ BRANDON!” Rick screamed, and he let out an angered yell. Morty could hear something shatter in the other room, and that’s when he decided he was fucking _done_ with this. The arguing needed to stop— he didn’t need people fighting about him when he was _fine_. (well, mostly fine. He wasn’t quite sure what he was right now). 

He quickly walked all the way down the hallway and turned a corner, walking directly into the room that he’d heard all their voices coming from.

It was a living room, with a beat-up looking couch and a small TV. The coffee table was littered with beer cans and soda, and the kitchen seemed to be connected right next to the room.

There was something made out of glass that was shattered on the kitchen floor, and Rick was the one standing closest to it. 

And _all eyes were on Morty._

The three other teens were standing in the middle of the living room, all looking at him with shocked expressions. Rick’s clothes had blood stains on them, and Morty’s stomach churned at the sight of it. 

_That was his blood. He’d almost bled to death._

He averted his eyes from the stain and looked at each of them individually, taking in their tense postures and shocked expressions. He didn’t want them looking at him like that; it made him _uncomfortable_. He just wanted an explanation, goddamnit!

“C-can someone _please_ explain what the fuck is happening right now?!” The brunette snapped, staring back at each of them with a deep, fiery intensity in his eyes. He was in a ‘no bullshit’ mood, and everyone in the room knew it. He deserved to know what the hell was happening. 

All of them erupted into chatter at once, talking over each other loudly, each trying to explain. Morty placed his hands over his ears. “SHUT UP! _Stop shouting!_ ”

Everyone was silent for only a second before someone spoke up again. 

“God _fucking_ damnit, Rick!” Sam yelled, turning to the blue haired teen furiously. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared up at the other teen. “I-I thought you said he’d be asleep for the rest of the day!”

Rick growled at him, anger showing deeply in his eyes as he glowered at the red-head. “I said _maybe_ the rest of the day, you dense piece of shit! It depends on the fucking person!”

“Stop arguing!” Bird snapped, his voice louder than usual, if not still mostly monotone. “You are both being dumbasses!” 

Sam and Rick both turned to him, eyes wide in shock. Even Morty was shocked. He was always such a calm, quiet guy. He _never_ rose his voice. Morty shrunk back a little. If he was acting like that, then there was no doubt in his mind that Bird was _pissed_. 

Bird looked down at Sam with a frown. “The situation is now out of our control. This was Rick’s choice, not our own.” He grabbed the red-head by his upper arm and started dragging him towards the door where Morty was standing.

“Ow! _Ow!_ ” Sam complained, stumbling after Bird. “Man, you don’t gotta be so rough!” 

Bird nodded at Morty as he walked through the door, but Sam yanked his arm from Bird’s grasp, a sullen expression on his face. “You don’t have to stay, Morty. You don’t have to be a part of this. Don’t let this ruin you—“

“Sam, _come on_.” Bird said, a small amount of insistence to his voice. Ouch, he really was angry, wasn’t he?

Sam rolled his eyes, walking out of the room with Bird and down the hallway. 

Morty watched them go for a moment before he turned back to Rick, who was still standing in the middle of the room. As they made eye-contact, he groaned and looked away, walking into the kitchen. 

Morty slowly crept his way further into the living room, wanting to follow Rick. He peeked into the kitchen, seeing the older teen walk towards the refrigerator, the broken glass crunching underneath his shoes. He pulled out two cans of beer, walking back over to Morty and holding one out to him. He had a sullen, worn down expression on his face. 

Morty hesitantly took the beer from him, their fingertips brushing for only a moment. 

Rick walked past him and sank down into the couch, opening the beer and taking a _long_ drink from it. 

Morty just stood awkwardly, fidgeting in place. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. This whole thing was so weird. He didn’t know where he was, why he wasn’t in a hospital, or why he was with _Rick_.

He remembered Sam finding him, and then eventually Brandon and Rick showing up, too. He also remembered Rick carrying him towards something green, but that could’ve just been his imagination. And after that, he couldn’t remember anything.

The situation was weird and it didn’t add up. If he wasn’t in the hospital, he should be _dead_. And if he did go to the hospital and ended up recovering, he would have woken up in the hospital, or at the very least his own _bed_.

Did his family even _know_ that he’d been _stabbed?_

“Y-you can sit down, you know.” Rick spoke up, not looking at him. “Like, on the couch.”

Morty opened his mouth, hesitating. He nodded. “R-right...” He made his way over to the couch, sitting a few feet away from Rick. He felt unbelievable awkwardly and uncomfortable. 

He pulled the tab on his beer, the soft click and hiss of releasing compressed air resonating through the room. It was the only sound that filled the awkward silence between them. He took a sip, cringing at the bitter liquid. The fruit punch had tasted _way_ better than this. But at least it somewhat helped the dryness of his throat. 

Rick drank from his beer again, taking long gulps of the stuff. When he pulled the can back, he crushed it in his hand, placing it on the coffee table. 

Morty stared at the can for a moment, feeling concerned. Despite Rick being pretty well-known as a drinker, Morty had actually never seen him drink. He didn’t know what Rick was like when he was drunk, and it made him worry. “W-weren’t you t-the one that said drinking wasn’t a good coping mechanism?” He joked in an attempt to break the ice, but his voice was quiet, making the attempt... less effective. 

Rick turned to Morty, one brow raised. He didn’t seem all that amused by his joke; however, a small smirk tugged at his lips for a short moment. “I’m a hypocrite.” He had a very slight slur to his voice. 

Morty cleared his throat uncomfortably, taking another sip from his beer. He started to wonder how much Rick had already had to drink. 

Rick stared at him for a moment, and Morty couldn’t tell if it made him uncomfortable or not. “Y-you have questions?” He asked after a moment.

Morty turned back to him, holding his gaze. “Y-yeah...” He said meekly, feeling a little less awkward. There were so many questions, and he didn’t know where to start. But at least he knew that he’d get answers to whatever he asked. 

Rick made a gesture with his hand for him to continue.

Morty still didn’t know what to ask, so he sat silently for a moment. He looked around the room to help him think. He couldn’t see any pictures hanging up on the walls, so he didn’t really know whose house this was. He guessed the best course of action was to first figure out where the hell he was— that was the most important thing he needed to know right now. “W-where are we?”

“This is my house.” Rick answered quickly, as if he’d already prepared for that question. 

“ _Why?_ ” Morty asked. It was something that he really didn’t understand. “I-I was _stabbed_ , Rick...” His voice shook as he said it, flashes of the knife buried to the _hilt_ inside of his stomach running through his mind. “I-I should—should be either _dead_ , or in the hospital. _Not here._ ”

That made sense, didn’t it? That he should be in the hospital? He was starting to once again become eerily aware that he wasn’t in any pain. He _should_ be in pain after... after what happened. 

Rick seemed to cringe at his words, shrinking down slightly. “I-I had the resources to fix you up here myself.” He explained. “Y-you’d—you’d lost too much blood. T-they couldn’t have saved you at the hospital...”

“D-Do you have any idea how much that doesn’t make sense? T-they could have _easily_ saved me at t-the hospital. It was a _stab wound,_ Rick.” Morty said, sitting up slightly. His stomach was churning uncomfortably, and he was starting to get a headache again. “W-What could you possibly have here that’s better than a hospital? _What the hell did you do to fix me?_ ” He opened the blanket, gesturing to the bandages on his stomach. “D-did you hire some— some illegal doctor to come patch me up? W-what the fuck did you do?”

Rick sighed heavily, sinking deeper down into the couch cushions. “Y-y-you wouldn’t believe me if I told you...”

Morty frowned at him, re-covering himself with his blanket. At this point, an unbelievable explanation was better than no explanation at all. He let out an incredulous laugh, rubbing his temples as he tried to calm his headache. “ _Try me,_ ” He insisted, more demanding than asking. “I-I’m freaking out over here, Rick. N-nothing’s making _any_ sense. T-the facts don’t line up. I’m missing something important. W-we’re _far_ past the point of you being able to keep secrets.”

“It was a healing substance from another dimension.” Rick mumbled under his breath. “And I u-used a blood transfuser machine to get your blood levels back to stable.”

Morty stared at Rick, an unbelieving look on his face. _Was Rick being serious?_ Was he really going to lie to him and make up such an unbelievable story? He shook his head, feeling disappointed that this is what he’d have to deal with. He’d just get the actual information out of somebody else. “H-how long have I been out?” He took another sip from his beer, slouching down into the couch. 

“About four hours.”

Morty sputtered, coughing as he tried to dislodge the bitter liquid as it went down the wrong pipe. He cleared his throat before speaking again. “That’s— _what?_ Just four hours? But that’s impossible!”

“Not when y-you have a healing substance from another dimension and a super advanced blood transfuser.” Rick shrugged nonchalantly, like the incredulous things coming from his mouth were completely normal. 

Morty pinched the bridge of his nose, taking in a deep, calming breath. He didn’t have time for this. What was his family doing? Were they worried about where he was? Didn’t they know he was missing? 

“I-I’ll prove it to you, but first, I have some questions, too.” Rick stated, half mumbling his words. 

Morty looked up at him, taking in the concerned expression on the other teens face. “A-ask away...” He said defeatedly with a little wave of his hand. This whole thing was so stupid. 

Rick sighed, crossing his arms over his chest slowly. He looked almost defensive. “W-why’ve you been so mad at me? What did I do wrong?”

Morty looked away from Rick, feeling all those horrible emotions return to him at once. The pain Rick caused him, the _hurt_ he felt inside. “W-why are you asking? Y-you know _exactly_ what you did... you _planned_ the whole thing...”

“You see, Morty, the thing is,” Rick said sitting up more in his spot. “I have no _fucking_ clue what you’re talking about.”

Morty shrunk in on himself at how angry Rick sounded. He didn’t want Rick to get angry. Morty was angry, and scared, and confused, and he didn’t need Rick yelling at him. He’d been _stabbed_ , and he’d thought he was going to die. Next thing he knew, he was in an unfamiliar place, his clothes were missing, and he was now talking to _Rick_ , who was at the center of his confusion. 

“What do you _think_ h-happened, Morty?” Rick went on, his voice calming slightly. “Why do you think I _planned_ some complicated scheme to hurt you?”

“Because you texted me, Rick!” Morty glared at him. “Y-y-you told me to meet you under the bleachers, so I _did!_ And I _saw_ you!”

Rick sighed, running a hand over his face. He looked over at the brunette, a worried look on his face. “Morty, I’ve been missing my phone since Tuesday. I never texted you to meet me by the bleachers.”

Morty froze for a moment, but continued. “T-that— but y-y-you still— I _saw_ you and her— you guys—“

“—Kissed?” Rick interrupted, raising a brow. 

Morty clamped his mouth shut, turning away from Rick again in frustration. He felt the sting of tears forming at the corner of his eyes, and he hated it. He hated crying _so much._

“I-I didn’t kiss her, Morty.” Rick continued, his voice strained yet soft. “She kissed me, and I pushed her away. I-I would never do that to you...”

“W-we’re not even dating,” Morty said, his eyes watering more. But he managed to maintain enough of his composure to not let them fall. “I-I k-knew t-t-that, but it s— it still hurt.”

Rick placed a hand on Morty’s shoulder. “Morty, _god_ , I would _never_ do that to you.” He insisted. “Yeah, we aren’t dating, but I like _you_ , Morty. I-I don’t like anyone else. I wouldn’t— I don’t even l-like Alyssa as a friend. She’s gross.”

Morty pulled away from Rick, scooting away from him. He didn’t know if he could believe Rick. It was so hard to after being betrayed and hurt by everyone in his life. What made Rick any different? 

And he was already saying so many unbelievable things that it was getting increasingly harder to trust him. 

“Morty,” Rick said, his voice laced with hurt. “C’mon, please don’t be like that...”

Morty tensed up at his words. “B-be like what, Rick?” He shot him a halfhearted glare. “H-how the hell do you expect me _not_ to b-be like this?” He turned away from Rick again, laying down on his side and using the arm cushion as a pillow. He pulled his knees up to his chest, burying himself further inside the blanket. “I-I’m scared, R-Rick. I’m confused, and tired, and scared...”

“T-then let me explain.” Rick urged. “W-what do you remember about what happened earlier today?” He was starting with the easier stuff. 

Morty curled even further into himself, not wanting to think about it. He knew he had to, though. He had to know how everything had lead to this moment. “S-Sam found me... i-I think h-h-he went out there to smoke. And then y-you and Bird were there, and, god, this is gonna sound crazy, but there was...” He hesitated, still unsure if this last part was just his imagination or not. “This... bright... green... _light_. A-and as you carried me closer to it, I-I think I passed out... I was probably hallucinating, or something. Was there a green light?”

Morty pointedly avoided the parts where he told Rick _who_ stabbed him. He also didn’t want to tell him about how he’d touched him in such an inappropriate place— he was actually lucky he hadn’t gone very far with it. 

Rick was silent. Morty’s face hardened, realizing that he was right about there being a green light. 

“W-what was that light, Rick?” Morty asked barely above a whisper. 

Rick sighed heavily, deflating. He didn’t say anything for a long, long while, and the silence was almost deafening. Morty felt like the silence caused crevasse form between them, and with each second that passed, it got twice as big. 

Morty quickly grew uncomfortable with the emotional distance that was growing between them, and he looked at Rick desperately. Just when Morty was about to asked him the question again, he finally spoke. 

“A portal.”

Morty scoff.

“I’m not lying, Morty.” Rick rolled his eyes. 

Morty looked over at him, resting his head on his hand. He sighed as he thought about what Rick was saying. He didn’t believe him— it was so ridiculous. But... “S-show me proof, or I’ll never believe you.”

Rick let his head lay back against the couch, and he drew his brows together in frustration. Morty couldn’t help but think that he’d never seen Rick look so stressed out before, and it was starting to stress him out, too. 

“Y-you can’t just expect me to believe s-something like that, Rick.” Morty’s hands were growing sweaty with how nervous he was, and he wrung them together anxiously. “It’s just so... it sounds so ridiculous.”

Everything sounded ridiculous right now. He found it hard to believe portals existed, even though he knew it was pretty much impossible for him to be healed this quickly. Being healed was one thing, but a _portal_ was on the other end of the spectrum. It was _impossible_. He’d be a fool to believe Rick without any proof. 

“Fine.” Rick stated simply, pushing himself up and standing from the couch. He looked down at Morty, a blank expression on his face. “I’ll prove it, but y-y-you have to promise not to flip out on me.”

Morty slowly pushed himself up on the couch, crossing his legs under the blanket. “Okay.” He rolled his eyes. _This was so stupid._ “S-show me t-this... _portal_ of yours.”

Rick sighed again, looking at him with a frown that told Morty that he knew the brunette didn’t believe him. “I’ll be right back.” He said, turning away and walking towards the door.

Morty didn’t say anything as he watched him leave the room. He fidgeted anxiously with the corner of the blanket, worrying it between his fingers. He frowned when he realized the blanket kind of smelled like Rick. Of course, he liked the smell. He liked _Rick_ , but... he still felt hurt. And it was a reminder of that feeling. 

He didn’t know if he should believe what Rick told him. He said he didn’t kiss Alyssa— that _she_ kissed _him_ , and Rick pushed her away. He wanted to believe him, but it was hard to, especially with all the other nonsense he was talking about. 

Impossible medical devices that Morty was sure didn’t exist; a healing medication that can literally heal a stab wound in less than _four_ hours; _portals_. 

None of that sounded real. It was _ridiculous_. But still, he was anxious for Rick’s return. Since he was sure, with every ounce of his logic, that portals could not possibly exist, he worried about what Rick would actually end up showing him. He wondered if he’d even come back to the living room, or if he’d run away and leave him there without an explanation. 

Morty pulled his beer can up to his lips and tilted his head back, drinking a few large gulps. It made his head feel a little fuzzy, but not by very much. He wasn’t anywhere near as drunk as he had been the last time he drank.  

He noticed that his hands were shaking slightly so he set the beer can on the coffee table and held his hands out in front of himself, watching how both of them trembled. This entire situation was way too stressful for him. He felt like he was still in danger, and he wasn’t sure if he actually was or not. Rick sounded _crazy_ , and he couldn’t stop thinking about what Sam had said to him.

He said he didn’t have to stay here— that he could still leave. He said that he didn’t have to let this ruin him. But what was it, exactly, that was going to ruin him? Morty wasn’t sure, and he didn’t know if he wanted to find out, but... when or if Rick walked back into the room, he knew there would be no going back from this.

Somehow, deep down in his very bones, he could feel that this was going to change everything. He didn’t know if it was going to change his entire life or just his relationship with Rick, but something was going to give. 

He wove his fingers together, squeezing his hands tightly as he tried to stop himself from trembling. He placed his hands on his lap, trying for the millionth time to collect himself. He had to be calm for this. 

He really hoped he wouldn’t have a panic attack. He was prone to those at times when he was feeling far too overwhelmed, or when stress built up for too long. 

Morty’s been very stressed recently with everything that’s been going on, and he was surprised that he was at least handling it well on the outside. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take, though. 

“Hey.”

He jumped slightly when Rick walked back into the room, and he looked over the back of the couch to see him holding some sort of gun. He gasped, ducking down slightly so that he was only barely peaking over the back of the couch. Rick wasn’t aiming it at him, so he didn’t feel _too_ worried, but it was still a _gun_.

Was it actually even a gun, though? 

The gun looked so peculiar. It had a grey covering, with a few wires sticking out of it and buttons on the side. What was most peculiar, however, was the syndical tube that was sticking out of the top of it. 

There was a ball of green light inside of it, and small sparks of green electricity coming from it and hitting against the glass like one of those plasma ball thingys that Morty saw in pretty much every science classroom he’d ever been in.

It looked cool, but Morty wasn’t so sure of this, now. It made him nervous. It kind of looked like it came straight out of a sci-if novel, but the very soft whirring sounds that he could hear emanating from it told him that it was most definitely working in some way or another. And it also looked _far_ too expensive to be a toy of any sort. 

That shit was real. 

“I-It’s— Morty, relax,” Rick said when he noticed the wide-eyed look Morty had on his face. He walked around the couch and placed the gun on the coffee table in front of them. “I-I’m not gonna hurt you.” He held his hands up slightly, like he was trying to prove that he didn’t have anything else on him.

Morty stared at the gun, completely ignoring Rick’s hand gestures. “W-What is it?” He asked, sinking further back into the couch like he was afraid it was going to jump out and bite him. 

“It’s my Portal Gun.” Rick explained, sitting down on the couch next to him. “I-I like to invent a lot of things, Morty. T-this is my greatest creation. I’ve been wanting to show you some of my shit for a while but I wasn’t sure how you’d react... or if you were ready to see any of it...”

Morty furrowed his brow, not sure what to think. He looked at Rick, and then the portal gun, and then back to Rick. “S-so... it’s basically, um... like the portal gun from the _Portal_ games?”

Rick chuckled lightly. “Kind of... but not exactly.”

It was silent between them for a moment. 

“Explain?” Morty urged in a confused tone. How was Rick going to pull this off? There was no way it was actually a portal gun. 

“Right, uh...” Rick cleared his throat. He picked up the portal gun, turning it over in his hands. “Y-y-you set the coordinates into here...” He said, tapping on a small screen and a dial on the front of it. He angled it down so Morty could see it over his shoulder. He then turned the dial a few times, and Morty saw several numbers flash across the screen as he continued to fiddle with it. 

He perked up curiously, now intrigued, as he leaned more towards Rick and looked over his shoulder hesitantly. He still didn’t believe that this weird contraption could create an actual _portal_ , but he wanted to see where this was going.

“Once you have the coordinates in, y-you just... shoot it into the middle of the room.” Rick continued, pointing the gun at the middle of the room. He didn’t pull the trigger yet, instead turning to look at Morty first. “Y-you ready for this?”

Morty looked at Rick as if he’d just asked the dumbest question ever. 

Rick sighed and rolled his eyes, turning back and pulling the trigger without hesitation. 

Morty gasped as a bright green light sprang from the barrel of the gun, and an oval, glowing _portal_ formed in the middle of the room. 

The brunette practically jumped out of his own skin, crawling backwards on the couch with a yelp of fear. He was about to stop crawling away when his hand went back too far, and he was tumbling off the other side of the couch.

Be braced himself in the spare second it took for him to make it to the floor, his head hitting it with a soft thumb. It was greatly cushioned by the carpeted floor, and he barely needed any time to recuperate himself before he was on his feet, staring at the portal in a mixture of apprehension and fascination. It looked like floating, glowing, swirling, green _goo,_ in the shape of an oval. Morty had never seen anything like it. 

“Holy fuck!” He yelped, staring wide-eyed at the portal. His mouth moved in place for a moment as he tried to formulate words. “What— _how_ —“

Rick chuckled, scratching at the back of his head. “Believe me now?”

Morty just gaped at him, unable to speak. _What the actual fuck was happening?_ His mind was once again running a mile a minute. He had even more questions than before, and he didn’t know how he was supposed to express them.

Rick chuckled again, this time sounding nervous. “Y-yeah, it... it can be a lot to take in.” He shrugged, looking down at the portal gun in his hand with a nervous, but fond, smile. He was proud of his creation. 

“I-I-I-I—“ Morty stammered, pointing at the portal. “I-I can’t— is it _real?_ ” The brunette immediately cringed at how stupid that question was. _The portal was literally right in front of him._ “I-I mean, does it actually work?”

“Yeah, ‘course it does.” Rick shrugged, walking towards the portal.

Morty darted around the couch, grabbing Rick’s arm tightly and pulling him away from it. He felt like the air around him was slowly being sucked into the portal, and everything seemed almost staticky. “Are—are you sure it’s not gonna, like, liquify your insides or something?”

Morty saw a deep red suddenly bleed into Rick’s cheeks, and he looked down to see that he not only was pretty much naked, but he was clinging to Rick so closely. He felt heat rise to own his face from the embarrassment, but he wouldn’t dare let go of Rick. Not when he was just about to walk through that... _thing_.

“Morty, if this thing could liquify my insides, then I’d be dead by now.” Rick said, tilting his head slightly in concern. “Trust me, I’ve done this hundreds of times before.”

Morty looked at Rick, and then the portal, and then back to Rick. He let out a small, uncertain whimper. 

Rick scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “You... wanna go through?”

Morty had to take a moment to process that question, and his hands unconsciously tightened around Rick’s arm. “What?! N-no! I-I mean, that sounds cool and all, but—but—but—“

“Morty, relax,” Rick interrupted, placing a steadying hand on his shoulder. “I didn’t say you _had_ to... I’m just offering. I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to.”

Morty loosened his grip on Rick, once again looking back and fourth between the other teen and the portal. His breathing was starting to speed up uncomfortably, and his chest felt tight. He didn’t like that he had to choose. He didn’t like it at all. 

“Whoa, hey,” Rick said, a concerned expression on his face. “Are you okay?”

Morty shook his head no. “I-I just... I gotta sit down...” He said, releasing Rick and sinking down onto the couch. He buried his face in his hands. 

Rick sat down next to him, fiddling with the portal gun for a moment. Morty saw the green light from the portal fade from between his fingers. 

“It’s—it’s closed now, Morty.” Rick said, sounding worried. “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to freak you out.”

Morty shook his head. “S’not your fault.” He mumbled. “I-I’m just— I’m a _mess_.”

It was hard to process. He felt like he was dreaming, but he knew he wasn’t. There’s no way that portal could exist, but he’d seen it with his own eyes. He’d seen _proof_ of its existence, and yet... he almost couldn’t believe it. He needed to let it sink in before he could do anything else. 

“Well, it kinda is my fault...” Rick sighed, setting the Portal Gun down on the coffee table again. He awkwardly drummed his fingers on his knees. “I-I didn’t have to drag you into this...”

“D-drag me into what, Rick?” Morty pulled his hands away from his face and looked up at him almost hysterically. “I-I don’t even know what—what you’re talking about. You showed me a _portal_. While, y-yes, I am kinda freaking out, It’s not the end of the world.”

It felt like the end of the world. Morty knew it wasn’t, but he _felt_ like it was. Or maybe it felt like the beginning of the world. The beginning of a whole different plain of existential existence. 

“I-I showed— Bird and Squanchy have known about the Portal Gun since I invented it a few years back.” Rick explained, a focused look on his face. “W-we did some things in space, and kind of got in trouble, and now we’re all fugitives.”

“Wait, back up,” Morty said, eyes widening. He sat up straight, gaping for a moment as the words played over in his mind a few times. He’d said way too many things in that one sentence, and he needed to go through all of it slowly. “ _Space?_ ”

Rick rolled his eyes. “It’s a Portal Gun, Morty. I can portal to space without a problem. I-I’ve been all over the universe.”

“Aw, g-geez, that’s a lot to t-t-take in, Rick.” Morty stammered, shaking his head. “I-I mean, not even _NASA_ can go very far into space.” 

“Yeah, well NASA’s scientists suck ass, Morty.” Rick grumbled, looking slightly annoyed. Morty didn’t know why Rick was upset by NASA, but that was something he could figure out another time. “They _wish_ they could have me.”

“Do t-they know about the Portal Gun?” Morty asked, still completely astounded.

“No, and I plan to keep it that way, alright?” Rick said, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the gun sitting on the coffee table. Morty could see the green glow reflecting in his eyes. “Y-you have to promise you won’t tell anybody about it.”

Morty nodded vehemently, knowing that Rick could _literally_ ditch him in space if he wanted to. “O-of course, Rick. I-I promise.”

Rick ran a hand down his face, resting his chin in his hand as he leaned forward on his knees. “Good.” He said under his breath. 

Morty looked down at the patch of bandages on his stomach again, feeling heat rise to his face again. _God, he was far too underdressed._ Everything was just too much right now, and he didn’t know how to deal with it. Maybe if... if he focused on something much more mundane, he’d feel a whole lot better. 

Something that didn’t have to deal with weird fucking science shit, and the sudden knowledge that the person he liked was a fucking _fugitive_ in _space_. 

In _space!_

“D-Do... do you know where my clothes are?” He asked quietly, hoping that Rick would take the bait and focus on that subject instead. He could only take so much at a time— he was just one person. 

Rick looked at him, his eyebrow raising. “Oh.” He said, as if having a sudden realization. “ _Oh_ , um, well... t-they’re kind of in the wash right now... t-they were... covered... in blood...”

Morty’s breath caught in his throat. _Asking about his clothes was a bad idea. Bad idea. Fuck._

“A-and your shirt kind of has a hole in it, so I don’t know if you want that back...” Rick wouldn’t look Morty in the eye. “Y-you can barrow some of my clothes, if you want.”

Morty nodded, self-consciously crossing his arms over his bare chest. “I-I’d—I’d prefer not to be mostly naked...”

Rick nodded, standing up. “C’mon, then.”

Morty stood, too, and followed Rick out into the hallway and back into the room Morty had woken up in. He could hear Bird and Squanchy’s voices further down the hallway, but when Rick closed the door, he couldn’t hear them anymore.

“W-why was Sam so upset?” The brunette asked anxiously, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. 

Rick sighed, opening his closet and digging through it. “He didn’t want me to tell you about the portal and—and all the stuff we’ve been caught up in. He values you as a friend and d-doesn’t want you getting hurt. There are a lot of things out in the universe that can hurt you.” 

He backed out of the closet, holding a shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He handed both to Morty. The brunette chuckled when he looked at the shirt, realizing that it was actually _his_. It was the one that he gave Rick the first night they officially met, right after they jumped into the pool. 

“I’ve been meaning to give that shirt back for a while now.” Rick shrugged. “I just keep forgetting.”

Morty pulled the shirt over his head and put it on, not surprised when it looked baggy on him. It had always been a little baggy on him. 

He looked at the sweatpants, a brow raised. They were definitely too big for him. “T-this’ll never fit me...” He chuckled. 

Morty found the difference between their clothes amusing. Rick was actually pretty skinny, but he was just... _tall_ , and he had lean muscles. And Morty was just short and scrawny in comparison. People consistently thought he was a middle schooler. 

He flushed at the thoughts he had about Rick, trying to remind himself that he still had to talk to him about what happened with Alyssa. He was more inclined to believe him now that he knew he wasn’t lying about portals _fucking existing_.

Rick chuckled. “It has a pull-string so you can tighten it.”

Morty nodded, quickly slipping the pants on and pulling the strings. He struggled slightly to tie them together, and even when he managed to get it done, they still hung kind of low on his hips. He was glad his shirt was so long on him. 

He looked up at Rick, not knowing what they were supposed to do now. “Do... what do my parents know?”

“I-I called your mother earlier using your phone.” Rick said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling Morty’s phone out. Morty felt his heart lurch uncomfortably at the sight of it. Nobody had ever gone though his phone before— not even his parents. It’s not like he had anything to hide, really, but it still made him feel exposed. “I asked her if you could stay the night and she said yes. She t-thinks you’re staying over at my house for Sam’s birthday party, or something.”

“Oh,” Morty said, taking the phone from him. He didn’t quite know how that worked along with the fact that he still had school tomorrow, but he could only assume that Rick had somehow sweet-talked his mother into allowing him to do this despite that. “W-Well, that’s good, I guess...”

“I... also looked through our Instagram messages using your phone.” Rick admitted.

Morty looked away from him. He knew he wouldn’t be fully ready to continue this conversation, but it’s not like he had a choice. Not really. 

“I didn’t send you those texts, Morty.” He said, reaching out and taking Morty’s hands in his own. “I’ve been missing my phone since Tuesday. I think someone stole it and set me up.”

Morty met his eyes, tears threatening to fall from his own. 

“I think it was Jessica.” Rick ran his thumbs over the back Morty’s hands gently. 

“W-why her?” Morty asked, his voice quavering slightly. He had a suspicion that it was somehow her, too, but it was still hard for him to see it that way after witnessing Rick and Alyssa kiss. He knew Rick hadn’t initiated it, apparently, but he couldn’t get the image out of his head. 

“She found me in the hallway and bumped into me.” He explained, sighing heavily. “And then she told me that she saw Brad dragging you out to the football field, so I freaked out and ran there, and that’s where I found Alyssa.”

Morty tensed at the mention of Brad, holding onto Rick’s hands tighter. His lower lip quivered slightly, and he bit it in an attempt to stop. 

Rick released one of his hands, reaching up to his forehead, running his thumb carefully over the scab that was healing there. “How did this happen?” He asked quietly.

Morty turned his head away. “I-I tripped... while running...” He was embarrassed that Rick was even pointing the injury out. He’d hit his head running away from the football field over basically nothing. 

Rick lowered his head. “I’m sorry.”

Morty squeezed his eyes shut as tears fell from them— he’d been holding back the tears pretty much since he woke up, and he couldn’t do it any more. “P-please don’t do that...” He pleaded, suddenly overwhelmed with guilt. “Don’t apologize... y-you didn’t do anything wrong, I-I’m the one who should be apologizing...”

“Don’t be like that. Y-you don’t have anything to be sorry for.” Rick said, his voice quiet and soft. He sounded pained, as if Morty blaming himself for all of this was breaking his heart. 

“I-I said all those horrible things to you,” Morty whispered back, unable look Rick in the eye. “Y-you didn’t even do anything wrong. I-I-I didn’t even try to hear your side of the story.”

“Morty, look at me,” Rick said, grabbing his chin between his thumb and index finger and turning his head until he was facing him. Morty looked into Rick’s eyes, trying to find any shred of anger he could, but there wasn’t any. Part of him _wanted_ Rick to be angry; he deserved it. “It’s not your fault. Y-you didn’t mean what you said. I-I could see it in your eyes. And even if you did mean it, it was only because someone set me up and made me look like an asshole.”

“T-that still doesn’t excuse the fact that I _did_ say them.” Morty insisted, pulling away from Rick completely. He didn’t want Rick to touch him right now. 

“I-if y-you’re really feeling so bad about it, then I forgive you.” Rick sank down onto his cot, respecting the fact that Morty obviously didn’t want to be touched. “There’s nothing to really forgive; you didn’t do anything wrong. But, I forgive you, if that’s what you want.”

Morty stared down at him for a moment before he started pacing a little bit in the room, wiping at his face as tears flowed down his cheeks. 

He was trying to stop himself from falling into a panic attack. Everything was just so stressful, and he was actually surprised he hadn’t had a panic attack yet. He got stabbed, and then woke up in an unfamiliar place. He discovered that fucking _portals_ apparently exist. And now Rick was telling him that all the stress he’d been through in the past few days had literally been for nothing. 

If he had just talked to Rick, none of this would have happened. None of this would be happening right now if he’d made an effort to communicate. 

Jessica set them up and made Rick look bad, and Morty ended up screaming at Rick in the hallway, so blinded by rage that he’d basically shoved the both of them out of the goddamn closet without batting an eye. He said things that he shouldn’t have, and completely overreacted, and Rick was just going to forgive him just like _that?_

He felt like he didn’t deserve his forgiveness. He was so _shitty_. He was a shitty friend, and he would be a shitty boyfriend if it ever came to that, and he ruined everything. How could Rick want him back after that? How could he want Morty after he acted like a fucking psycho? 

They aren’t even dating! They’d _kissed_ a few times. _That was it!_ It’s not like Rick had been cheating or anything— he had been free to do what he wanted, and Morty had acted like Rick had been unfaithful towards him. He didn’t have the right to claim that Rick had betrayed him when Rick wasn’t _his_.

“Morty, what are you doing?” Rick asked, watching as the teen paced anxiously in his room. 

The brunette stopped in his tracks, turning to Rick with a guilt-covered expression. “I-I’m sorry.” He said. “I-I just— I completely overreacted to—to this whole thing.” He let out a shaky breath, digging his nails into his arm so hard that he was starting to draw blood. “I-I... I’m the one who w-wanted I take things slow... I’m t-the one who said I didn’t want to date, but I-I still f-freaked out, and—and I shoul-shouldn’t h-have. I-It was completely wrong of me.” He squeezed his eyes shut tightly for a moment as more tears fell from them. “A-and you didn’t even really d-do it— _she_ did it— which makes my reaction even m-more overdramatic...”

Rick reached forward and grabbed the hem of his shirt, dragging him close enough so he could grab his arm, pulling on it gently with a slightly alarmed look on his face. “Morty, y-you’re hurting yourself.” He said, trying to get his hand to release the death grip it had on his arm.

Morty immediately released his arm, his eyes widening at the crescent-shaped punctures on his skin. His hand was shaking from the strain of holding down so hard. Rick pulled him even closer, not stopping until he was forced to sit down on the cot next to him, hip to hip. 

The older teen laced his fingers with Morty’s, holding his hand in his lap to prevent him from accident hurting himself again. “Morty, y-your reaction was justified.” He said. “It’s... natural to get upset over these things, and it’s really hard to think when you go through stressful situations like that. It’s hard to _want_ to h-hear someone else’s side of the story when you’re afraid that your fears will be confirmed.”

Morty laid his head on Rick’s shoulder, wanting to be closer to him. The warmth of Rick’s body calmed him in ways that he couldn’t explain. “I-I’ve missed you s-so much, R-Rick...” He said. And it was so painfully true. 

Rick wrapped his arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer into his chest. “I’ve... I’ve missed you, too.” He said. But then he sighed. “A-and I need you to tell me who did this to you.”

Morty didn’t like how it wasn’t phrased like a question. It was a demand. He curled further into Rick, wishing that they weren’t talking about that now. “It d-doesn’t matter...” He said, barely above a whisper.

Rick sighed heavily. “Morty, tell me who it was. I-I _need_ to know.”

“No, you don’t.” Morty said, pulling back from Rick so he could look up at him. “W-What would even be the point? Nobody would b-believe us. T-the evidence is gone.” He gestured to his stomach, reminding Rick that he was healed. “And I-it’s not like anyone cares enough to find justice for me—“

“ _I_  care.” Rick cut him off harshly, frowning angrily down at the brunette. “ _I_ fucking care, Morty. I care so goddamn much t-that it _hurts_. Do you have any fucking idea what it felt like when I saw you earlier? You were _bleeding to death_ right in front of me, Morty. _You were going to die._ I’ve never been so terrified before in my life.”

Morty stared at Rick with wide, tear-filled eyes. Nobody had ever said anything like that to him. Rick had said multiple times that he cared, but he didn’t think what happened to him would scare Rick this much. He hadn’t thought Rick, or anyone for that matter, would be this upset over him.

“Imagine if Sam h-hadn’t found you, Morty.” Rick said, grabbing Morty’s shoulder tightly. His hold was almost too harsh. “Someone tried to fucking _murder_ you, Morty. Do you understand? You almost _died_.”

Morty shook his head, unable to face Rick once again as the tears flowed down his cheeks. The reality that his life had almost ended seemed to finally be setting in. He’d been so close to death. If Sam hadn’t showed up, he wouldn’t be here right now. He’d be _dead_. His body would probably still be laying behind the school, lifeless. 

_Dead_.

“I need you to tell me who tried to fucking kill you, Morty.” Rick insisted, shaking him slightly in his grip. 

Morty whimpered, reaching out for Rick desperately— he grabbed ahold of the front of his shirt, not knowing what else to grab, but _needing_ to grab _something_. His eyes drifted down to the blood stains that were still on Rick’s shirt— _his_ blood. 

_Dead. He’d almost died today_. 

“B-Brad...” He said in a broken voice, shoulders hitching as small sobs started to escape from him. The words began flowing from his mouth almost forcefully— he couldn’t _stop_. “H-he— He g-grabbed m-m-my h—hair, and—and pulled me out t-the door, and— and— and he told me— told me not to t-talk to Jess-Jessica, and t-then he—“ He cut himself off, clenching his jaw shut tightly to stop himself. He couldn’t say it. He _couldn’t_.

All of it was still too fresh in his mind, it all still hurt so much. It kept replaying over and over in his mind like a disk glitching on a record player. _Brad grabbing his hair, pinning him against the wall, yelling at him, touching him, **stabbing** —_

He didn’t want to think about it. 

Morty could see rage inside Rick’s eyes, but the longer he watched Morty cry, the more it faded into worry. 

“I-I’m sorry for pushing, M-Morty...” He said, running his hand up and down Morty’s shoulders comfortingly. 

“I-I thought I was going to die, Rick.” Morty said, burying his face into Rick’s shoulder, just wanting to be close to him. He didn’t want to talk any more. It was still playing over and over in his mind, and he couldn’t make it _stop_.

Rick opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of Morty’s phone ringing.

Morty pulled away from him with a start, instinctively grabbing his phone from the pocket of his sweatpants and holding it up. Summer Smith was calling him, and he began quickly wiping his face of tears. Rick glanced at the caller ID, and then looked at Morty with raised brow, as if asking if he was going to answer it. 

Morty looked at his phone, then to Rick, and then back at the phone. He contemplated what to do about the phone call for a moment before he made a decision. “I-I have to take this...” He said.

Rick nodded, an understanding look on his face. 

Morty swiped for it to answer and held the phone up to his ear. “H-hello?” He asked, trying his best to make his voice sound steady.

_“Morty, what’s going on?”_

“I, um—“

_“I thought you were on the outs with Rick? Did you talk to him? Mom said you were with him and that you’re having a sleepover at Sam’s house for his birthday, but it’s birthday isn’t until—“_

“Summer, slow down.” Morty said, rubbing his temple. 

It was silent for a moment. 

_“I just want to know if you’re okay.”_ She said, which caught Morty off guard.

“I-I don’t know how to answer that...”

Morty admitted sullenly. “I mean, I am, but... I’m not.”

Summer sighed. _“You don’t have to tell me where you are, but... at least tell me you’re somewhere safe. I know that you couldn’t have possibly made up with Rick that quickly, and it’s not like you to just... vanish like that.”_

“I know,” Morty said, glancing at Rick for a moment. “B-but I’m safe right now, so don’t worry. I’ll just explain everything to you later, okay?”

_“Okay...”_ Summer said quietly. _“I’ll see you soon, right?”_

“Yes. At school t-tomorrow.”

_“Good... I’ll talk to you later, Morty.”_

Before the brunette could respond, Summer hung up the phone. He pulled his own phone away from his ear and looked at the screen, which showed the call ending.

Rick looked at him curiously. “What’d she say?”

Morty let his phone fall onto the cot with a soft thump and he leaned into Rick again, wrapping his arms around his middle. He was so done with today. “S-She wanted to know if I was safe...” He mumbled into his chest.

The tension in Rick’s frame slowly relaxed in Morty’s hold, and he wrapped his arms around him. He leaned back into the cot, pulling Morty into his side. The two of them were laying flush against each other on the small cot, slotted together perfectly, like two puzzle pieces. 

“C-can we just sleep?” Morty asked quietly, his eyes closed and his body already beginning to relax as he clung to Rick. He was emotionally and physically exhausted from everything that’d happened today. It was too much. Way too much for one day. 

“Mmhm.” Rick hummed in answer, letting his eyes drift closed as he breathed in Morty’s sent. He was just as tired, and wanted nothing more than to just hold the small brunette. “I’m just glad to have y-you back, ba— Morty.”

Morty couldn’t help but grin slightly at his words, even if it also caused a little pang of guilt to hit him in the heart. He felt like he didn’t deserve Rick’s affection after all the things he said, but he couldn’t help but feel a weird sort of swell in his chest that made him feel... so... _wanted_.

He wasn’t used to feeling wanted, and he had to admit that it was great. 

He nuzzled his face into Rick’s chest. “I-I’m glad I’m back, too... I missed you...” He said. God, he really hadn’t realized the full extent of which he’d missed Rick. He’d missed him _so much_ , but now that he was here, enveloped in his arms, and physically  _with_ him, he couldn’t figure out how he’d managed to stay away for so long. 

He was mixed with so many emotions, all of them so strong that it _hurt_ , even the good ones. But he was glad he was with Rick again. He was glad that they fixed the whole Alyssa situation. Maybe they had other problems to deal with now, like portals and space and _Brad_... but right now, they didn’t have to worry about it. They were together, and for now, that’s all they needed to think about. 

They’d deal with everything else later. 

Rick ruffled Morty’s hair affectionately, smiling down at him for a moment before he closed his eyes, feeling exhaustion settle deeply into his bones. 

As the two of them began to drift off, Rick’s last thought was about how he was going to make Brad suffer.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure when the next chapter comes out, but the goal is to not make you guys wait as long as I made you wait for this one. I’ll have a lot more free time to write it since it’s gonna be Summer break in like three days for me, so hopefully I’ll get it out sooner. 
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and being patient! I hope you guys enjoyed! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry the first chapter was so short. It sorta just came out that way. I promise the next chapters are wayyy longer. This was mostly just to hopefully get people interested. Thanks for reading and please comment! I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts!


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